US launches supply chain initiative to speed up delivery times and reduce consumer costs

FLOW is an information sharing initiative to pilot key freight information exchange between parts of the goods movement supply chain. It includes eighteen initial participants that represent diverse perspectives across the supply chain, including private businesses, trucking, warehousing, and logistics companies, ports, and more, with the hope and expectation to include more partners going forward.

These key stakeholders will work together with the Administration to develop an information exchange to ease supply chain congestion, speed up the movement of goods, and ultimately cut costs for Americans.

FLOW builds on the Biden Administration’s continued efforts to address supply chain challenges in both the short term and the long term.

Commenting on the new initiative, Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka, said:

We look forward to helping drive this important initiative forward. This nationwide supply chain data visibility effort will support system resiliency, improve our trade competitiveness and empower American businesses to get products to market with greater consistency and reduced cost

Moreover, Mario Cordero, Port of Long Beach Executive Director, added that “developing common data standards to facilitate freight movement is an important part of truly bringing our industry into the 21st century. The Biden-Harris Administration is playing an important role in clearing obstacles for much needed coordination across the supply chain to make goods movement more efficient.”

We are pleased to join and support the FLOW initiative led by the US Department of Transportation as we strongly believe that a common and interoperable digital infrastructure throughout the container shipping industry is a critical step to make supply chains more efficient, secure and resilient

concluded André Simha, Chief Digital & Information Officer at MSC.