Today, the American Maritime Partnership publicly released a letter to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg underscoring the continued reliability of America’s domestic maritime services despite the current supply chain crisis. American maritime is providing certainty to American customers and consumers, undeterred by supply chain disruptions and congestion impacting global shipping and major international U.S. ports, particularly on the West Coast. 

"While the supply chain issues pertaining to our import-export trades persist, the men and women of America’s domestic maritime industry will continue to do our part to deliver for Americans,” said Mike Roberts, President of the American Maritime Partnership. “The current supply chain problems highlight once again the importance of maintaining a highly resilient and dedicated American supply chain for serving customers in our domestic markets.”

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and foreign shipping supply chain crisis, American maritime has provided steady and reliable transportation service for Americans across the United States, including the non-contiguous areas of Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Alaska. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, over 500 trans-Pacific sailings were cancelled, or “blanked” by international carriers. On the other hand, few if any domestic voyages have been blanked by any Jones Act carrier during the same time period. The ability to continue this uninterrupted service during a crisis is due in part to the Jones Act, the fundamental law of the maritime industry.

The letter to Secretary Buttigieg, issued on October 25, 2021, was provided in response to a request for information by the Administration for public stakeholder comment on the current supply chain disruptions facing the country.