The Panama Canal will complete an expansion project in 2014, allowing larger ships to pass through the canal. This has the potential to bring more freight from Asia to the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts. The February 2012 NADO Research Foundation report Freight Transportation and Economic Development: Planning for the Panama Canal Expansion(PDF) describes the ways that regions across the country are working to improve their freight transportation assets in anticipation of new volumes of freight containers. This report provides an overview of some possible effects of the canal expansion on the U.S., as well as some of the efforts of coastal ports and inland regions to capitalize on economic opportunity that may be offered by a change in freight patterns. This report was produced through the NADO Research Foundation’s Center for Transportation Advancement and Regional Development under a cooperative agreement with the Federal Highway Administration.
