The Freight Logistics Optimization Works (FLOW) initiative, a private-public partnership created and led by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), recently added two new members.
With the addition of the Port of Oakland and the Northwest Seaport Alliance, which includes the Port of Seattle and Port of Tacoma, the initiative reaches the five largest container ports on the West Coast.
“Our department has taken a number of aggressive steps to build more resilient supply chains through both historic infrastructure investments and unprecedented private-public partnerships, like FLOW, to better protect against shocks to the system,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.
The DOT collects, aggregates, and anonymizes key information shared by FLOW participants on importer purchase orders, inbound containerized freight, and aligning future demand volumes against current regional capacity.
Members can access secure data through a shared online portal or API hosted by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, and can use data to better inform supply chain planning.
FLOW’s more than 80 members include container ports, ocean carriers, and retail importers.
The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach also are FLOW members. Along with the Port of Oakland and the Northwest Seaport Alliance, they comprise approximately 95 percent of West Coast inbound container volume.