The North Carolina Maritime Strategy: Enhancing the North Carolina Economy through Investments in the State's Maritime Infrastructure

The State of North Carolina initiated the development of the North Carolina Maritime Strategy to serve as an open evaluation of North Carolina's position, opportunities and challenges in global maritime commerce. The study examined the role that North Carolina ports play in sustaining and strengthening the state economy and identified opportunities and strategies to optimize the benefits received from the State's investment in port and associated transportation infrastructure. The Maritime Strategy identifies maritime market investment opportunities that would support state industries, would take advantage of North Carolina's position in regional and global maritime trade, and would prioritize the use of available public funds for infrastructure investment. This approach identifies markets that build on the state's existing strengths and fills gaps in port services offered by nearby ports. Niche opportunities are identified to respond directly to the unmet waterborne transport needs of the state's shippers. A variety of analytic tools was used to develop a set of alternatives for consideration by the State of North Carolina leadership. Project analysis relied on a customized delivered cost model developed by AECOM to assess the potential improvement to shipper time and cost that could be realized by targeted landside and waterside access and related improvements to North Carolina port terminals and transportation network. Future year truck travel patterns were evaluated using the U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Freight Analysis Framework (FAF) database paired with GIS-based infrastructure information assembled for North Carolina and surrounding states. IMPLAN and other economic tools were also used to develop a quantitative measure of economic benefits that could be realized by specific investments. Extensive stakeholder outreach provided important firsthand industry and community input to the analytical process. This paper presents the approach, challenges and findings of the analysis conducted under the North Carolina Maritime Strategy to identify specific near-term and long-range infrastructure projects that would enhance the competitive position of the state.