Commercial Investment Real Estate March/April 2018 | Page 24

EASTERN
PROMISE
The expanded Panama Canal slowly shifts the balance
between East and West Coast shipping volumes.
by Sara S. Patterson
The expansion of the Panama Canal is changing the ship-
ping dynamic of the U.S. Eastern seaboard by permitting
deeper ships to enter its ports. These Eastern ports may
gain the competitive edge to challenge the supremacy of
the West Coast ports for shipping more transit-equivalent
units, the industry standard measurement for cargo con-
tainer volume.
However, nearly two years since the renovated Panama
Canal opened in June 2016, the changes are coming slowly.
Larger ships are passing through the canal to U.S. East
Coast ports. The total number of transits, however, was
down by 0.2 percent last year, with 46.3 million 20-foot
TEUs, according to CBRE. Ultimately, the growth in
cargo will resume, and the increased competition between
ports on the East and West Coasts will create more flex-
ibility and alternatives for distribution and warehouse users.
“Like ships move slowly, shipping routes and port mar-
kets also tend to change slowly,” says Craig Roberts, CCIM,
real estate project manager at Port Tampa Bay in Tampa,
Fla. “We invested in Post-Panamax cranes for ships from
the Panama Canal and are expanding our container capac-
ity. Getting our infrastructure ready is the first step.”
The World Trade Organization forecasts up to 4 percent
growth for shipments to and from the U.S. during 2018,
driven by a sharp uptick in expected global gross domestic
product growth. Currently, the West Coast claims a 52 per-
cent share of U.S. TEU volume, which has declined from
54 percent in 2014 and from 57 percent in 2010.
Roberts expects Port Tampa Bay to experience growth
in its TEU volume during the next 10 to 20 years due
to the expansion of the Panama Canal and the growth
in central Florida’s Interstate 4 corridor. He anticipates