It’s still faster and more cost effective to ship to most parts of the U.S. from West Coast ports than through the Panama Canal, according to a report from CBRE. The Journal of Commerce recently noted that West Coast ports have bounced back from last year’s prolonged longshoremen’s strike and have regained their customary share of containerized imports.
An expanded Panama Canal will cap cargo capacity per vessel at 13,000-14,000 TEU (a measure of container capacity), whereas western ports can already accept vessels with capacities up to 18,000 TEU, according to Dr. Noel Hacegaba, PPM, CPE, Managing Director–Commercial Operations for the Port of Long Beach, Calif.
THE PANAMAX EFFECT
Cities lining the East Coast and Gulf Coast are spending big bucks to accommodate the larger vessels that will cross a wider and deeper Panama Canal.
Last year, Long Beach handled 7.2 million containers, the third best year in its history. Hacegaba says that the Panama Canal expansion might even increase the flow of goods from east to west, especially from eastern South America. “The expansion gives suppliers alternatives,” he says.
Long Beach projects a 4% annual increase in container volume over the next several years. The port is in the midst of a $4 billion infrastructure upgrade over the next decade. Improvements include a fully automated, $1.3 billion Middle Harbor terminal capable of handling 3.3 million TEU. The port is also replacing the 50-year-old Gerald Desmond Bridge—over which 15% of the nation’s goods travel—at a cost of $1.5 billion.
Hacegaba says about 30% of containers leave Long Beach by rail. The port wants to increase rail traffic to 50% to take advantage of rail’s efficiency and environmental cleanliness compared to other transport modes. Long Beach is exploring a short-haul rail operation and an inland container yard.
Hacegaba says 18 million sf of warehouse space lies within 100 miles of the Port of Long Beach, and more is being built. “The port is an economic engine for the Inland Empire,” he says.
Related Stories
| Oct 27, 2014
Davis, Calif., latest city to join race to develop 'innovation hubs'
The city plans to develop two "innovation centers" with a total of seven million sf of commercial space geared for local research and technology companies.
| Oct 16, 2014
Perkins+Will white paper examines alternatives to flame retardant building materials
The white paper includes a list of 193 flame retardants, including 29 discovered in building and household products, 50 found in the indoor environment, and 33 in human blood, milk, and tissues.
| Oct 15, 2014
Harvard launches ‘design-centric’ center for green buildings and cities
The impetus behind Harvard's Center for Green Buildings and Cities is what the design school’s dean, Mohsen Mostafavi, describes as a “rapidly urbanizing global economy,” in which cities are building new structures “on a massive scale.”
| Oct 14, 2014
Slash energy consumption in data centers with liquid-based ‘immersive-cooling’ technology
A new technology promises to push the limits of data center energy efficiency by using liquid instead of air to cool the servers.
| Oct 12, 2014
AIA 2030 commitment: Five years on, are we any closer to net-zero?
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the American Institute of Architects’ effort to have architecture firms voluntarily pledge net-zero energy design for all their buildings by 2030.
| Oct 9, 2014
Beyond the bench: Meet the modern laboratory facility
Like office workers escaping from the perceived confines of cubicles, today’s scientists have been freed from the trappings of the typical lab bench, writes Perkins+Will's Bill Harris.
| Oct 1, 2014
4 trends shaping the future of data centers
As a designer of mission critical facilities, I’ve learned that it’s really difficult to build data centers to keep pace with technology, yet that’s a reality we face along with our clients, writes Gensler's Jackson Metcalf.
| Sep 24, 2014
Architecture billings see continued strength, led by institutional sector
On the heels of recording its strongest pace of growth since 2007, there continues to be an increasing level of demand for design services signaled in the latest Architecture Billings Index.
| Sep 22, 2014
4 keys to effective post-occupancy evaluations
Perkins+Will's Janice Barnes covers the four steps that designers should take to create POEs that provide design direction and measure design effectiveness.
| Sep 22, 2014
Sound selections: 12 great choices for ceilings and acoustical walls
From metal mesh panels to concealed-suspension ceilings, here's our roundup of the latest acoustical ceiling and wall products.
