The following is text of a news release from Global Market Insights:
(SELBYVILLE, Del.) — Thriving on ever-growing trade activities coupled with numerous favorable government initiatives, the North America inland waterways vessels market has gained recognition as one of the most remunerative business verticals of the current era. Regardless of the fact that air and ground transportation have witnessed revolutionary technological advances, inland waterways continue to play a vital role in preserving the economic competitiveness of North America-based businesses across global markets.
Being an environment friendly, reliable, and congestion-free transportation mode, there has been a high preference toward utilizing inland waterways across North America over the past decade. With an exponential rise in environmental concerns across the globe, the North America inland waterways market participants have a crucial role to play in lowering the carbon footprint by a substantial volume. It would be prudent to mention that lower emission levels assist nations in securing more carbon credits, which further translates into significant budgetary savings.
A dominant force in the trading and shipping sector, Uncle Sam now aims to preserve its stance in North America inland waterways vessels industry.
The 2018 federal budget has underlined the need to fundamentally alter the laws governing the Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF). For the record, IWTF is one of the prominent funds across the U.S. inland waterways vessels market and was formulated to pay for 50 percent of construction and major rehabilitation expenses of the country’s inland waterways. Elaborating further, the 2018 budget includes a disbursement of nearly $200 billion that would be directed toward accelerating the pace of infrastructure projects in the nation.
The involvement of federal governments in developing navigation projects has further boosted the U.S. inland waterways vessels industry in the recent past. Citing an instance of the same, the governor of Louisiana announced that to build the Houma Navigation Canal Lock Complex, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council would provide $18.5 million to the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. The project would provide critical flood protection to the Terrebonne Parish region and enhance navigation facilities as well. Such proactive development initiatives to upgrade and maintain the quality of waterways have paved the way for U.S. inland waterways vessels market players to explore new business opportunities.
A visionary national plan to revamp the transportation system is likely to strengthen the position of Canada in North America inland waterways vessels industry.
Canada unveiled a strategic roadmap, Transportation 2030, in 2017. Focusing on various themes including air, shipping, trucking, and rail, the plan consists of a comprehensive draft to work on inland waterways in the nation. The "Waterways, Coasts, and the North" is a significant part of Transportation 2030, which intends to build an innovative, green, safe, and integrated transportation system that would consequentially boost the fortunes of Canada inland waterways vessels market.
Marine transportation is an essential lifeline for Canada’s northern territories. Bearing this in mind, the Canadian government has approved $1.5 billion in its 2017 budget to support the Ocean Protection Plan. The plan is being described as the most significant investment ever made to protect Canada’s waterways and coasts. The strategy aims to create a world-leading marine safety system that provides economic opportunities to the Canada inland waterways vessels industry players.
Among its numerous initiatives, the Ocean Protection Plan aims to construct low-impact shipping corridors that would provide emergency response and navigational support services for safer marine exploration. Furthermore, the plan intends to build Arctic National Aerial Surveillance Program Complex in Nunavut to monitor the growing number of ships operating in Canada’s Arctic waters.
Owing to the escalating operational costs and low marginal profits, the participation of private entities in the global inland waterways vessels industry has taken a hit in the recent times. However, considering the current state of affairs across North America inland waterways vessels market, which is replete with numerous encouraging government programs and increased budgetary allocations in the pipeline, the overall business sphere is bound to expand its commercialization portfolio in the near future. According to a research report by Global Market Insights Inc., the North America inland waterways vessels market is forecast to register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 6 percent over 2017-2024.
