U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced a new USDOT program, The American Supply Chain Sovereignty Initiative, which he said will launch a “high-visibility dashboard” connecting major hubs like the Port of Los Angeles directly to ocean carriers, trucking companies, railroads and retailers such as Walmart. 

At present, the primary data hub connecting shippers to the Port of Los Angeles is the Port Optimizer, a cloud-based portal that digitizes maritime shipping data for real-time cargo tracking, supply chain visibility and logistics planning. Also in existence since 2022, FLOW (the DOT’s Freight Logistics Optimization Works), launched by the Biden-Harris Administration, is a public-private data exchange network connecting shippers, ports and warehouses to improve supply chain visibility and reduce bottlenecks. 

During a press conference at the Port of Los Angeles, Secretary Duffy explained that FLOW had already delivered “better insight into what the demands are, when products are going to arrive, [and] when we're going to ship products out, and, at first blush, that product worked very, very well. However, we have to expand upon that.” The proposed new system, he said, would be like a TSA PreCheck line for “pre-screened” containers. “Our containers that are pre-screened are going to get in one line, and the non-screened will be in a different line, which means if your container is pre-screened, you are going to get through this port, onto a truck or onto a train, much faster.” 

A query to the DOT to explain how the new platform would interact with existing logistics and freight management online systems, including commercially available ones such as those provided by Kinaxis, Logility and Blue Yonder did not evince a response before deadline. The Port of Los Angeles spokesperson deferred to the DOT.

A June 12 announcement from the DOT said Secretary Duffy is calling on Congress to include the necessary legislation to make the initiative possible in this year’s National Defense Authorization Act. “By authorizing USDOT to create role-based access for specific data points, Congress will give the Department the framework and flexibility required to securely streamline national logistics,” the announcement said.

Duffy said he wouldn’t be asking Congress for money, only “a slight tweak” to legislation. Presumably referring to the FLOW system, Duffy said “The original language was tailored too narrowly, and we're going to expand it, to optimize what we started with, but [also] to re-envision it and give more tools to our ports, and move product faster.”

“When it comes to our supply chains, time is money. Fewer delays mean lower costs throughout the entire supply chain,” said Duffy. “The American Supply Chain Sovereignty Initiative will prevent bottlenecks, move freight faster, and deliver goods more affordably for the American people.”

The DOT said the initiative will build on the success of the Department's Freight Logistics Optimization Works (FLOW) program and Secretary Duffy’s new strategy to modernize the nation’s nearly seven-million-mile freight network.