You likely have seen them as you drive down the highway, fly out of airports, or travel near ports. Those large, round, white metal tanks, usually found in clusters, are critical to our nation’s economy but few give them more than a passing glance. In this edition of the Think Tank, we wanted to talk with you about liquid terminals and why they are important to the economy.

Late December 21, both the House and Senate passed what many observers called the largest piece of legislation in American history. The 5,593-page bill, which was given to legislators just a few hours before the vote, included an omnibus appropriations bill to fund the government until October 2021, the fifth Coronavirus Relief Act, and the Water Resources Development Act of 2020, which we discussed in a previous Think Tank blog.

A piece of legislation critical to the liquid terminal industry was tucked into the omnibus spending and coronavirus relief bill passed by the Senate near midnight yesterday. While the Water Resources Development Act of 2020 will not get the attention of some of the other measures in the relief bill, its passage is extremely important to the terminal industry because WRDA funds the maintenance, construction and improvement of our nation’s harbors, inland waterways and ports. Water infrastructure is critical to facilitate the trade we will require to help our economy recover and position the nation for long-term growth. 

As you are laying out that plate of cookies for Santa or decorating a gingerbread house with the kids, we hope you remember the role of storage tanks in your holiday baking. In an earlier edition of the Think Tank, we featured some sweet holiday recipes that use molasses. 

As we approach the holiday season, it is easy to overlook the role of tank terminals in our family gatherings. Most people if they think about bulk liquid storage tanks at all, think they only house petroleum goods or chemical. But the truth is that a lot of what we eat passes through such facilities as well!  Many liquid agricultural goods, like molasses, dairy products, high fructose corn syrup and more find their way through liquid terminals at some point in their journey to market. In today's blog, you'll find some of our favorite savory holiday recipes featuring molasses.