DOT Secretary Buttigieg Notes Federal Aid’s Impact on Supply Chains
“Our supply chains are stronger, are more resilient, than they were three-and-a-half years ago,” he said during a keynote address Wednesday.
According to TruckingDive, department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg credited infrastructure spending in helping better absorb supply chain disruptions.
Buttigieg presented keynote remarks and answered questions in a fireside chat with Trucking Dive Senior Reporter Colin Campbell during Industry Dive’s live event on July 24, “Supply Chain Outlook: Trends and Risks To Watch in 2024.”
During the event, he detailed how his agency helped to strengthen public-private partnerships to better withstand snarls disrupting the flow of goods, pursue a policy of zero deaths on roads, and roll out an infrastructure spending influx.
“There are more and more potential sources of disruption,” Buttigieg said, citing attacks on ships in the Red Sea, upcoming labor negotiations and extreme weather concerns, such as record-setting heat. But he added that “our supply chains are stronger, are more resilient, than they were three-and-a-half years ago.”
The $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act calls for capital injections across transportation modes, such as roads, bridges and ports. As of June 27, the DOT issued around half of its funding under the 2021 legislation, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Funding has covered 56,000 projects in 4,500-plus communities, the department previously noted.
