Analysis of Start-Up Cross-Gulf Short Sea Shipping Activities With Mexico Since 1990: Problems and Opportunities (SWUTC/04/473700-00021-1)

At the same time that traffic congestion is increasing on our nation's highways, international trade continues to show strong growth trends, especially NAFTA trade between the U.S. and Mexico. Because of this, much interest has surfaced in "short sea shipping," loosely defined as sea shipping that does not involve more than one continent. This report looks at what has been attempted since 1990 in one subset of short sea shipping-U.S.-Mexico cross-Gulf services. The objective of the report is to determine what services have been attempted, what obstacles they encountered, and what policies might be implemented to encourage the success of future ventures. This was done through extensive literature searches, interviews with participants in previous ventures, and surveys and discussions with port authorities. In order to provide context for the study, a description ofthe U.S. Gulf and Mexican port systems is included along with brief summaries of each of the ports identified as being actively involved in the trade. Topics for further research are also identified.