Disruption and recovery/ resilience, and safety issues in freight transportation

货运对现代社会的生命线至关重要，因为它将生产者与地理上分散的消费者联系起来。在北美，由陆路、海运和空运组成的广泛的货运系统为这种联系提供了便利。然而，对运输基础设施的投资没有跟上货运量增加的步伐，这反过来又导致货运部门达到或接近运力运营。与此同时，故意破坏或削弱运输系统的中断的风险增加，例如与恐怖主义有关的事件或因自然发生的天气事件造成的中断。鉴于这一部门本身的重要性及其对整体经济的影响，应尽一切努力确保最大限度地利用相关资产，包括适当的维护，并保护相关基础设施不受故意和自然造成的干扰。因此，

Freight transportation is crucial to the lifeline of modern society because it connects the producers to geographically dispersed consumers. In North America, this connection is facilitated by an extensive freight transportation system comprised of surface, marine and air transportation. However, investment in transportation infrastructure has not kept pace with the increased volume of goods, which in turn has resulted in at or near capacity operation for the freight transport sector. Simultaneously, risks from disruptions that are intentionally designed to damage or cripple the transportation system such as a terrorist related events or result from naturally occurring weather based events have increased. Given the significance of this sector both on its own merit and as a consequence of its impact on the overall economy, every effort should be made to ensure maximum utilization of related assets, including appropriate maintenance, and protection of related infrastructure from both intentional and nature-induced disruptions. Thus,