Chelsea C. White III, H. Milton and Carolyn J Stewart School Chair, Schneider National Chair of Transportation and Logistics, and Director of the Trucking Industry Program, delivered the opening keynote address at the National Chamber Foundation's Protecting Our Competitive Edge: Supply Chain Bottlenecks and the U.S. Economy Conference in December in Washington. D.C. The other speakers for the one-day conference were W. Ralph Basham, Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; The Honorable Carlos M. Gutierrez, Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce; and Dieter Zetsche, Chairman, Daimler AG, and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, who was introduced by Thomas J. Donohue, President and Chief Executive Officer, U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Three panels rounded out the remainder of the conference.

The primary focus of the conference was to examine the growing problems of freight transportation bottlenecks and how to solve them. As the global marketplace grows more competitive, the efficiency and productivity of the U.S. supply chain, the lifeblood of the economy, is an issue of great importance. Delays and backlogging at ports and along borders caused by aging infrastructure at ports and inland waterways, capacity overflows, and new security policies are slowing down the flow of goods and materials in and out of the U.S.

The conference offered an open dialogue among experts, business leaders, and policy makers to focus on the problems at U.S. ports and borders, changes needed to allow the economy to flourish, and ways to begin to make those changes. In order for the U.S. economy to remain competitive, examining the current weaknesses and future challenges facing our supply chain is crucial.

White, a sought after speaker on issues in freight transportation and logistics, opened the conference by providing a first hand look at the movements of goods through U.S. ports and borders. He took the participants on a visual tour of a typical supply chain highlighting bottlenecks and delays and the impact of congestion; discussed the importance of trade and making ports & borders as easily navigated and as efficient as possible to promote future growth, trade, and economic stability; and offered a perspective on supply chains that originate in S.E. Asia for the U.S. consumer market.

To view the live Web cast, visit: http://www.uschamber.com/webcasts/default

The National Chamber Foundation (NCF) is an independent, non-profit, public policy think tank affiliated with the United States Chamber of Commerce. The organization's goal is to make the NCF the first place policymakers look to for high-level discussions on cutting-edge issues.