Who is expanding the panama canal

Even considering the time and cost of delivering containers from East Coast ports to inland destinations, it's generally faster and often just as cost-effective to serve the western two-thirds of the U. The "battleground" is the Ohio River Valley, where intermodal and all-water costs and transit times are similar, thanks in part to improved rail service from East Coast ports.

West Coast intermodal offers more flexibility in terms of service and pricing, and for time-sensitive goods, more precision thanks to door-to-door service, he says. Faster transit times equate to lower inventory holding costs too. From a shipper's perspective, all-water to the East Coast via Panama may be best suited for commodities with year-round, steady demand, he notes.

The view from Panama is more upbeat. New container services attracted by the expanded canal are creating more opportunities for U. East Coast," he says.

Some of the big ships stop at the Pacific end of the canal to load containers originating in Panama's free trade zone as well as agricultural products from Central and South America, he adds. If the ship is delayed, the longer wait times can potentially cause bottlenecks in the DC, he says.

The scenario Knohr describes is not unique; capacity is a concern in many warehouses and DCs in Panama as well as around U. It's also become a huge issue for East Coast ports. Realistically, few East Coast ports will play host to the big ships, says Dr. Schedule constraints and the economics of ship and shoreside operations mean carriers will limit direct calls to a handful of ports—perhaps just two or three—and serve others via feeder services.

This hub and feeder system with its reduced number of direct calls means that overall transit times are unlikely to improve.

Ports such as Baltimore; Charleston, S. That new business comes at a price, however. Even ports that "hadn't been major destinations before But given the inevitable reduction in direct port calls, he says, "they have to ask themselves whether it's a better strategy to become a great feeder hub instead. Yet even if Neopanamax ships never call at a port that's invested in infrastructure improvements, that doesn't mean it's wasted money.

The bigger ships will send more containers via feeder to those ports. Importers, exporters, and other players are sure to benefit from the efficiencies the infrastructure improvements will bring. Prince says the Panama Canal expansion has produced one more benefit for shippers: It has made port labor on both coasts aware that "there's another coast shippers can use" if there's a strike.

They're not constrained by the size of the ship anymore. We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.

LNG ships began using the waterway for the first time after the opening of the Expanded Canal. Since then, this segment has experienced steady growth. More than 90 percent of the LNG world's fleet can now transit the Panama Canal, which opened the doors to a new market and allows LNG producers in the United States to send natural gas to Asia at competitive prices.

Giant lock gates are stored along the waterway in Panama for a third channel in the Panama Canal, photographed on October 21, A worker walks at the Panama Canal expansion project site during an organized tour by the Panama Canal authorities on February 21, The last gate of the Pacific Locks is being installed as part of the Panama Canal expansion, as the media is offered a tour, in Cocoli, near Panama City, on April 28, An aerial view shows the new Panama Canal expansion project, at left, including the existing Gatun Locks on the right, during a media tour organized by contractor Salini Impregilo, in Gatun, Panama, on March 23, Visitors take pictures during a tour organized by the Panama Canal to the expansion project in Panama City on May 17, Visitors brave the rain during a tour organized by the Panama Canal to the expansion project in Panama City on May 17, A photographer takes pictures at the Panama Canal expansion project site during an organized tour on February 21, The head of the Panama Canal Authority, Jorge Quijano, opens the main valve to flood the Gatun flood chambers that will provide water to the new set of locks in the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal in Colon, Panama, on June 11, Water began flooding into an expanded section of the Panama Canal as engineers begin testing new locks.

Water spills from pipes after the valves opened to start the flooding of the Panama Canal Expansion project on outskirts of Colon City on June 11, Workers stand by a waterfall during the start of flooding of the Panama Canal Expansion project on outskirts of Colon City on June 11, Panama canal authorities opened the valves, marking the beginning of the process of flooding the new locks on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal.

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