First look: Biden administration eyes supply chain data

• Consumers are growing increasingly impatient as supply chain issues drag into their second year, Axios' Hope King reports.
• This all comes as President Biden is fighting to defy the historical odds and keep his party in power following the midterm elections this November.

Driving the news: The initiative, Freight Logistics Optimization Works (FLOW), is being launched at a White House event on Tuesday morning, an administration official told Axios.

• Attendees will include Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council.

Details: The initiative involves creating a "proof-of-concept information exchange" between 18 public and private organizations at various stages of the supply chain, according to a fact sheet provided to Axios.

• The organizations include state and local port authorities, maritime shipping companies, seaport terminal operators, retail and food businesses, trucking companies, chassis companies and logistics companies.

• The Transportation Department is leading it as "an honest broker and convener to bring supply chain stakeholders together," the fact sheet says.
• The program aims to "support businesses throughout the supply chain and improve accuracy of information from end-to-end for a more resilient supply chain."

The bottom line: The administration is hoping Americans will see this effort as proof it’s actively trying to address day-to-day economic woes.