White House to Speed Up Infrastructure Upgrades Amid Supply Chain Crisis, Inflation
President Joe Biden announced Tuesday plans to determine and pay for needed upgrades to U.S. ports over the next 90 days, according to the Associated Press. This comes as supply chain disruptions continue to overwhelm major ports across the country and drive inflation.
U.S. port authorities will be allowed to reallocate leftover money originally meant for grant projects to address the supply chain issues, the AP reported. "For example, the Georgia Ports Authority will use $8 million to convert its inland facilities for the port of Savannah into container yards, freeing up dock space and speeding the flow of goods to their final destinations," the report reads.
Biden also plans to visit the Baltimore port today to outline plans for the recently passed infrastructure spending package. Some funding from the bill is expected to go toward updating bridge limitations that prevent larger vessels with more cargo from passing through, Reuters reports.
These are just a portion of several recent moves made by the White House to address the supply chain crisis and accompanying inflation. Wholesale level inflation rose 8.6% in October compared to one year ago, matching September's annual gain, according to the Labor Department.
"More than 60% of the September-October increase in overall producer prices was caused by a 1.2% increase in the price of wholesale goods as opposed to services. A 6.7% jump in wholesale gasoline prices helped drive goods prices up," the AP reported.
The Labor Department also reported U.S. consumer prices are up 6.2% in the last 12 months, marking the largest year-on-year jump in the last 30 years.
