
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 114 (Tuesday, June 14, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38773-38774]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-13991]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary


Port Performance Freight Statistics Working Group

AGENCY: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Office of the 
Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R), U.S. 
Department of Transportation (USDOT).

ACTION: Port Performance Freight Statistics Working Group: Notice of 
public meeting.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces a public meeting of the Port Performance 
Freight Statistics Working Group (hereafter, ``Working Group''). The 
Working Group will provide advice and recommendations to the Bureau of 
Transportation Statistics (BTS) Director pursuant to Section 6018 of 
the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (Pub. L. 114-94; 
129 Stat. 1312) on matters related to port performance measures, 
including: (a) Specifications and data measurements to be used in the 
Port Performance Freight Statistics Program established under 
subsection 6018(a); and (b) a process for the Department to collect 
timely and consistent data, including identifying safeguards to protect 
proprietary information described in

[[Page 38774]]

subsection 6018(b)(2). The Working Group will operate in accordance 
with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and 
the rules and regulations issued in implementation of that Act.

DATES: The meeting will be held on July 15, 2016, from 10:30 a.m. to 
4:30 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be at U.S. Department of Transportation; 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. Any person requiring 
accessibility accommodations should contact Matthew Chambers at (202) 
366-1270 or via email at: portstatistics@dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: U.S. Department of Transportation, 
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, Bureau 
of Transportation Statistics, Attn: Port Performance Freight Statistics 
Working Group, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room #E32-342, Washington, 
DC 20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Background: The Port Performance Freight Statistics Working Group 
has been created in accordance with Section 6018 of the Fixing 
America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (Pub. L. 114-94; Dec. 4, 
2015; 129 Stat. 1312). The Working Group supports development of the 
newly-established BTS Port Performance Freight Statistics Program. The 
goal of the program is ``to provide nationally consistent measures of 
performance'' of the nation's largest ports, and to report annually to 
Congress on port capacity and throughput.
    The Working Group is established in the FAST Act to provide 
recommendations to the BTS Director on matters related to port 
performance measures; to identify a standard for port data; to specify 
standards for consistent port performance measures; to recommend 
statistics for measuring port capacity and throughput; and to develop a 
process to collect timely and consistent data. The FAST Act also 
identifies the membership of the Working Group, and sets a due date for 
recommendations to the BTS Director of December 4, 2016.
    Agenda: This will be the Working Group's first meeting and will 
include a nonpublic administrative work session, including briefings on 
their responsibilities as Special Government Employees before the 
public session. The public session, starting at 10:30 a.m., will 
include U.S. Department of Transportation staff providing an overview 
of FAST ACT and an update of the Department's progress implementing its 
Port Performance Freight Statistics Program and related provisions. The 
Working Group will commence development of a list of tasks and subtask 
necessary for it to:
    (a) Identify a generally accepted industry standard for port data 
collection and reporting.
    (b) Specify standards for collecting data and reporting nationally 
consistent port performance measures.
    (c) Make recommendations for statistics measuring on U.S. port 
capacity and throughput.
    (d) Develop a process for the U.S. Department of Transportation 
(hereafter, ``Department'') to collect timely and consistent data, 
including identifying safeguards to protect proprietary information.
    The final meeting agenda will be posted on the BTS Web site at 
www.bts.gov/port_performance in advance of the meeting.
    Public Participation: The meeting will be open to the public on a 
first-come, first served basis, especially because space is limited. 
Members of the public who wish to attend in-person are asked to send 
RSVPs, including name and affiliation to portstatistics@dot.gov by July 
11, 2016 in order to request a seat and to facilitate entry. Any person 
requiring accessibility accommodation, such as sign language 
interpretation, should contact Matthew Chambers at (202) 366-1270 or 
via email at: portstatistics@dot.gov five (5) business days before the 
meeting.
    Written Comments: Persons who wish to submit written comments for 
consideration by the Working Group must send them via email to 
portstatistics@dot.gov or mail to Matthew Chambers, Designated Federal 
Officer, Port Performance Freight Statistics Working Group, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE., Room #E32-342, Washington, DC 20590, which must be 
received on or before July 11, 2016.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on June 8, 2016.
Patricia S. Hu,
Director, Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
[FR Doc. 2016-13991 Filed 6-13-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P


