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10 Mar 2017 / Panama Canal, Panama

Expanded Canal’s global impact grows, U.S. East Coast ports begin to benefit

Expansion [of the Panama Canal] nears its first full year of operation, some ports are already benefitting as a result, particularly those along the U.S. East Coast.

As it was for the Canal, January 2017 was also a record month for many U.S. East Coast ports, including the ports of Charleston, Philadelphia and Savannah, which recorded 28%, 34% and 16% container volume growth, respectively.

For the Port of Charleston, its monthly cargo record follows an annual cargo record set in 2016, after handling 2 million TEUs.

The ports in Virginia and Baltimore also saw record breaking volumes in 2016. The Port of Virginia handled more than 2.65 million TEUs, a 4.2% increase compared to the prior year, while the Port of Baltimore handled more than 10 million tons of general cargo and a record number of containers.

This growth can be attributed, in part to the Canal, which has and will continue to draw additional cargo volumes to the region, as ports continue to expand…

…U.S. East Coast ports have not been the only ones to benefit from the expansion. So far, the Panama Canal has welcomed 11 new services through the waterway as global shipping lines are redrawn to take advantage of the economies of scale the Canal provides. The ACP [Panama Canal Authority] anticipates that, as this number continues to grow, so too will the Expansion’s impact across the world.

(For information about operations in the Panama Canal contact GAC-Wilford & McKay at [email protected])

Source: Extract from Panama Canal Authority Monthly Canal Operations Summary for February 2017 dated 8 March 2017

If quoting any content from Hot Port News, please cite GAC Hot Port News as the source.

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