Heavy Haul Access to U.S. Ports

Texas exporters are increasingly concerned that current weight regulations do not maximize the capacity of oceangoing containers. To comply with these regulations, some containers are underloaded and transported to a transloading facility, where additional product is added to the containers. Exporters maintain that this process adds costs to the supply chain and results in higher numbers of truck trips on Texas roads. Furthermore, exporters state that all other major U.S. container ports have a permitting mechanism that allows higher weights for oceangoing containers to use roads accessing the ports, allowing exporters in those states to maximize container capacity. This research investigates the claim that in most cases a mechanism exists for allowing higher weights for oceangoing containers to traverse roads that access major container ports and documents the findings of whether or not this claim is true.