News Room

The Transportation Security Administration employs multiple layers to provide a secure air system for travelers. Technologies like millimeter wave advanced imaging scanners for passenger screening and computerized tomography explosive-detection systems for checked baggage screening are some of the key devices deployed at airports. Anytime a new technology is introduced, it should provide benefits that enhance air system security and improve the passenger experience, such as in the form of reduced waiting times.

These words, written in aftermath of the United States’ strategic surprise from Sputnik, ring true again today. Facing growing scientific and technical competition, Congress and President Eisenhower enacted the 1958 National Defense Education Act, increasing Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) talent to invigorate American competitiveness and win the Cold War. Today, we face a similar problem in key technical fields that underpin both military and economic competitiveness.  

One is product shortages, as with the shortage of personal protective equipment early in the pandemic and recently with infant formula. But are we willing to pay higher prices for less reliance on the global supply chain?

Economists and other market watchers often look at signals from the transportation sector, especially trucking (which carries a significant majority of US freight) for insight into the direction of the broader economy.

The global supply chain issues the Federal Reserve has been worried about plagued the country’s busiest ports last year. A new report from the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence ranked the efficiency of more than 350 ports worldwide based on how long ships had to wait at port last year. Los Angeles and Long Beach, which handle more than 40% of all maritime imports to the U.S., came in dead last for efficiency.