|
CENTRAL
AMERICA |
Panama Canal Expansion To
Impact US Ports
By Brent Underwood
On October 22, 2006 the citizens of Panama
approved by 76.8% a plan to expand the
famous canal which cuts across their
country.
At an estimated cost of $6.2B, the project
will double the canal’s capacity and is
expected to be completed late 2014.
The expansion will have a serious impact on
many of the ports around the world,
especially in the US. For residents here in
the Tampa Bay area, it is important to
understand the new changes and how they may
affect the Port of Tampa.
This is because the expansion has been
causing competition between US ports on who
will remain in control of the US trade
entering the country.
The most threat is to the west coast, which
has long dominated trade from containers
coming in from the Asian markets. Here, the
current way unloads the shipment onto a
train if the product’s final destination is
on the east coast. However, recently this
method has been plagued with delays and
inconsistent timing, neither of which is
appreciated in today’s marketplace.
To combat the future threat of shipments
going directly to the east via water, many
of the West Coast ports have united with two
major railroad companies to form the U.S.
West Coast Collaboration (USWCC) to keep
costs at a point which keeps their option
attractive.
Included in this collaboration are the Ports
of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland,
Portland, Seattle, and Tacoma, along with
the two railroad companies, Burlington
Northern Santa Fe Corp. (BNSF), and Union
Pacific Railroad.
Along the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico
there have been no such agreements between
ports and railroad companies. However, there
has been MOU's (Memorandums Of
Understanding) with the APC (Panama Canal
Authority). Ports participating in these
MOUs include our Port of Tampa, the Port of
Miami, Port of Manatee, Port of Houston, and
Port of New Orleans. Port authorities in
Georgia, Virginia, South Carolina, New
Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts are also
involved in the MOUs.
Deciding on a shipping route will become a
difficult task for all importers and
exporters to and from the US. They will have
to weigh the costs and benefits of either
side of our country.
In 2008, the top 5 importers were Wal-Mart,
Target, LG Electronics, Lowes, and Adidas
America. This means these heavy hitters,
along with many other countries will be
faced with a difficult question in 2014:
Continue to ship their containers to the
West Coast and deal with the congestion and
delays, or use the all-water route
alternative?
Only time will tell, but I do believe East
Coast and Gulf of Mexico ports, including
the Port of Tampa will see increased
activity due to the expanded locks. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
