this post was submitted on 28 Jan 2024
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It's absolutely insane we don't do a shit load more shipping in this amazing river system. Thanks, Jones Act.
The tldr is that to go directly between two ports in the United States, a ship must be American built and flying American colors. The law is the result of the shipping industry's lobbying efforts 100 years ago. Until that point, American shipping had been considered the best for several decades, and they'd rather have Uncle Sam protect them instead of doing anything to be more attractive. This is why if you get on a cruise ship, you always visit a foreign port. You can't sail directly between Houston and New York. It also means that cargo sent within the United States can't go by water. All cargo moving domestically moves by road, rail, or air.
I live in St Louis, there are tons of barges taking materials up and down the river every day. It doesn’t measure up to our hay day 130 years ago but there is still a lot of shipping
I live in Portland and it's the same here on the Columbia and the Willamette. We don't get the giant container ships because they can't cross the Columbia Bar, but we do get midsize grain ships headed for Asian and South American markets.