Back in 2007, citizens of Panama voted to expand the Panama Canal to allow vessels triple the size of what were passing through the Canal at the time. Since then, I have been asked by several clients how will that affect US ports, specifically along the East Coast and Gulf Coast. Further, how will that affect trade in the central United States, especially along the I-35 corridor.
My impression is its entirely too early to say. Some people think it will be a game changer and open up the central United States to more international trade since more shipments could be made via barge instead of by truck or rail from the West Coast. Being located in the central United States, I would be all in favor of that theory. And while I think there will be increased trade and more shipments through the Gulf Coast, I think there are several factors that may calm the excitement of increased shipments. The first is the west coast ports, specifically the port of Los Angeles along with the railroads will do everything they can to compete with the newly expanded Panama Canal in order to not lose business. Another factor will be the port infrastructure itself. Its great the Panama Canal is expanded, but those extra large vessels won't be able to dock along any US port unless investments are made at those ports to handle the larger vessels. How either one of those factors progress is anyone's guess. US and international politics will also play a role with this factor being one of the most unpredictable.
The article below details the impact the expanded Panama Canal will have on the East Coast ports and I agree with the assessment at the end of the article. The ports that expand the fastest to accomodate the larger vessels wins!
What Panama Canal's Expansion Means for East Coast Ports
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