CPaCE News

In collaboration with CITT, the Eno Center for Transportation (Eno), an independent think tank focused on transportation policy and workforce development, recently released “Waterborne Competitiveness: U.S. and Foreign Investments in Inland Waterways.” 

The paper investigates the relative competitiveness of the U.S. inland waterway system in comparison to other countries with significant waterway networks. The project incorporates a high-level analysis and compares the U.S. network to six international case studies, including the Yangtze-Mekong in Asia, Rhine-Danube in Europe, and Amazon and Paraná-Paraguay in Latin America. Each case study provides a unique regional context, allowing researchers to explore China’s strategic use of the Yangtze and Mekong, European cross-border collaboration, and the influence of foreign direct investment (FDI) on Latin American waterway use and development. CITT Research Assistants offered their Spanish and Vietnamese language skills to further expand the project’s reach and provide in-depth insight from each country’s own research and governing documents. 

PHOTO (clockwise from top left): Eno Policy Analyst Katie Donahue, CITT Executive Director Tom O’Brien, and Eno Policy Director Paul Lewis at a webinar on June 7, 2022.

Each case study presents important lessons for U.S. waterway development, including investment priorities, strategic planning, and policy/practice assessment. The paper also explores the current and historical extent and condition of the waterway systems, funding levels, traffic volumes and trends, commodity types, and the importance of each river system to the national and global economy. Led by GIS and Data Manager Ben Olson, CITT additionally developed an interactive map for the project, which showcases the supporting infrastructure of the American and foreign waterways selected. 

Click here to learn more about the Center for Trade and Transportation (CITT) at CSULB.