The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) is a

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association partic ...

founded in 1912 that represents 150

port authorities In Canada and the United States, a port authority (less commonly a port district) is a governmental or quasi-governmental public authority_for_a_special-purpose_district.html" ;"title="110. - 6910./ref> is a type of Nonprofit organization">nonprof ...

in the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the te ...

, including the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, the Caribbean, and

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. Headquartered in

Washington, D.C ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

., AAPA protects and advances the common interests of its diverse member organizations as they connect their communities with the global transportation system. Member

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

s vary in size,

cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...

and vessel types handled, operating structure, and geographic service area. According to AAPA, America's ports are gateways to the world and a critical component in economic health and national defense. On average, each of the 50 states relies on 13 to 15 ports to handle its

imports An import is the receiving country in an export from the sending country. Importation and exportation are the defining financial transactions of international trade. In international trade, the importation and exportation of goods are limited ...

and

export An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ...

s, which add up to over $5.5 billion worth of goods moving in and out of U.S. ports every day. The association has four main goals: *Advocate governmental policies that strengthen and expand opportunities for member ports *Advance professionalism in all facets of

port management Port management involves the management of ports. Larger ports According to a syllabus of the United Nations University: :Large ports need to deal with a number of disparate activities: the movement of ships, containers, and other cargo, the loa ...

and operations *Promote

information sharing Information exchange or information sharing means that people or other entities pass information from one to another. This could be done electronically or through certain systems. These are terms that can either refer to bidirectional '' inform ...

and relationship-building opportunities for all members *Achieve greater understanding of the essential role and economic value of ports

Current issues

A key issue that AAPA is focusing on is the reorganization of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF). AAPA hopes that the fund can be applied in a way that fully benefits ports and their surrounding communities. Since the creation of the fund in 1986, HMTF

tax revenue Tax revenue is the income that is collected by governments through taxation. Taxation is the primary source of government revenue. Revenue may be extracted from sources such as individuals, public enterprises, trade, royalties on natural resour ...

has been used by the government to fund projects unrelated to port development. AAPA believes that the funding should go directly to ports in order to complete maintenance dredging. Regular maintenance dredging is crucial to most navigable waterways, harbors, and ports. Each year, several hundred feet of sand, gravel, and

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel ...

must be removed from waterways and harbors to maintain navigability—enough for a four-lane highway four feet deep stretching between

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and Los Angeles, California, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. AAPA also supports the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Freight Policy framework, which focuses on increasing public and private investment in

freight Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including tran ...

infrastructure through tax incentives. It also seeks to improve public and private collaboration on freight-related issues by increasing public-sector awareness about trends in private-sector freight operations and investment.

References

External links

AAPA Web siteAAPA FAQs
{{Authority control Port authorities in the United States