November/December 2011 | Trade and Industry Development

November/December 2011

Trade & Industry Development Magazine

November/December 2011

Going forward, supply chain risk management will be increasingly studied and variables will be more carefully weighted in risk/reward equations. As Rich Thompson of Jones Lang LaSalle notes in his excellent article upon the subject, multinational companies will reduce risk by setting up operations and supply chains regionally, while still serving global markets. This will be as much for business continuity as it will be for maximizing profit. Larry Gigerich of Ginovus discusses what plastics manufacturers should seek in a location to maximize efficiency. And Dennis Donovan of WDG Consulting provides in-depth knowledge about what companies in the fabricated metals industry should seek when siting new facilities. We also have industry outlooks from the International Warehouse Logistics Association and the American Association of Port Authorities, and Jennifer Alten follows up with a detailed look at how ports are affecting local economies across the country. Linda Dobel explores strategic logistical locations across North America, and Fred Burkhardt of Geneva Analytics examines the impacts from the Panama Canal expansion in his excellent Insights article.

 

In this issue

Impact of Expanding the Panama Canal

BY: Fred D. Burkhardt

Since its completion in 1914, the Panama Canal has been a critical link in the global transportation network. Currently, 20 percent of all U.S. imports from China are transported through the canal. However, constraints on vessel size and length of transit limit its volume. With as much as 95 percent of U.S. cargo imports arriving by ship, the trend has been to build larger vessels. Canal structural limitations have constricted the volume of shipping passage. Panama’s decision to expand the canal’s capacity has been driven by the fact that more than 73 percent of the world’s cargo ships are too large to pass through the canal. The $5.25 billion expansion will consist of a new third lane. This will enable the canal to accommodate “Post-Panamax” ships of 1,200 feet in length and capable of carrying three times the cargo of the current 965-foot long Panamax ships (USA Today). more....