b'4American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comProgress at the Port of NY/NJ:FAPS, Inc. handles Ro/Ro with auto parts to speed deliveryEverythings moving along. FAPSgetsjumponautoprocessingbyhandling New Port Commerce Director Bethann Rooney tackles infrastruc- auto parts.ture, environmental priorities. Back in the first quarter ofRovessels.Thisinnovative the year when there were longapproachaimstokeepthe By Peter Buxbaum, AJOT vessel wait times, FAPS, Inc.,supplychainfluidandthe a prominent Automotive Portassemblyplantshummingas WhenPresidentJoeBidenRooneys plate. AnearlyconcernwasProcessingCompanyandan adaptation to the current dif-and his administration began tothat, as the world shut down,Port Newarks longest tenant,ficulties and delays with con-confronttheocean-transpor- c ouncil onP ort shipswouldstillbecallingdeployed a highly innovativetainerized cargo.tation supply-chain problemsP ErforMancE at the port, causing a backupstrategyinworkingaroundThe process launched in broughtonbytheCOVID- Rightbeforethepan- of cargo in the terminals. IfboxshipdelaysindeliveringQ1 2022 highlights the quick 19pandemic,theircentraldemic started, ironically, thetherewasntenoughware- auto parts.and creative way that tenants message to ports was that allCouncil on Port Performancehouse space, we would thenFAPSpartneredwithaat the Port of New York and stakeholdersneededtotalkmadethedecisiontoscalehaveshipsbackingupintomajorOEMAutomaker,keyNew Jersey have adapted to to one another if the situationbackthefrequencyofitsthe anchorage, said Rooney.MarineVesselOperator,andcurrent supply chain disrup-were to improve.meetings,adecisionwhichSo,thecouncilidentifiedleading Stevedoring Companytions. This is but one example That was a lesson alreadyitquicklyreversed.Wheneverysquareinchofspace(Ports America) to speed deliv- of the spirit of collaboration learnedatthePortofNewourregionbecametheepi- that was available at the timeery of auto parts to assemblyandcooperation,ledbythe York and New Jersey, wherecenterofthepandemic,weinwarehousesandemptyplantsamidongoingglobalPort of New York and New theCouncilonPortPerfor- made a decision to meet on astorageyards.Thatturnedsupply chain issues. This col- Jerseysglobalautomotive mancebringingtogetherweekly basis, said Rooney,outtobeover90parcels,laboration shifted conveyance ofsupply chain partners, as has representativesofthePortto provide status reports andwhichweremadeavailableautopartstraditionallyshippedbeenahallmarkthroughout Authority,terminals,truck- to understand where the pain(PROGRESScontinued onvia container vessels to cratesthe pandemic and semi-con-ers,railoperators,shippers,points were. page 6) loaded on main decks of Ro/ ductor shortage.laborunions,andfederal agencieshad been in opera-tionforseveralyearsand helped maintain relative flu-idityascargovolumesfell andthenspikedduringthe pandemic.Theportisnow additionallychallengedby cargo increases brought about byshiftsfromWestCoast portswhichhaverequired somenewapproaches.(See article on page 2).Port Commerce Director Bethann RooneyThe council was the brain-childofBethannRooney, who in May took the reins of theportcommercedepart-mentasdirector,cappinga decades-long career at the Port Authority.Rooneystartedat thePortAuthorityin1993, whensheworkedinmarine terminaloperations,before heading to property manage-ment and leasing. Later, she worked on intermodal trans-portationsolutions,includ-ingthedevelopmentofthe ExpressRailsystemandthe cross-harborbargeservice, thenbecamethePAspoint personontechnologyand efficiency.Aftertheterror attacksofSeptember11, 2001, Rooney was appointed the Port Authoritys head of security,remaininginthat positionfor14yearsuntil she was appointed the assis-tant port commerce director, wheresheconcentratedon supply-chainoptimization, environmentalinitiatives, policy,andlegislation.As port commerce director, these and much more are now on'