NOLA In A Great Position To Attract Cargo

Implications: The expansion of the Panama Canal will change the economics of all-water routing of eastbound containers to midwest and east coast destinations.  There will be an added benefit of avoiding the increasing congestion and costs of west coast ports, rail lines, and highways.  NOLA is ideally positioned to take advantage of this.

Analysis: Gulf coast and east coast ports have been developing or implementing plans to take advantage of the increasing number of all-water deliveries of containers as well as the anticipated flood of new movements once the Panama Canal expansion project is completed.  One exception has been New Orleans.

NOLA, despite having excellent rail access and deep water access, has been well behind the curve in building infrastructure to support significant container volumes.  Besides infrastructure, their antiquated tariff system does not support the predictability that container shipping lines prefer.

The new plan is admirable.  A more aggressive expansion plan would be preferable, especially in a city not known for being able to maintain infrastructure timetables or budgets.

Mobile has attracted customers simply by being the port that has invested in attracting this business.  Jacksonville has made inroads, and a number of smaller ports, such as Tampa, have made modest investments, but a large amount of business is up for grabs and NOLA, by virtue of its rail service, has the upper hand.

Now if the infrastructure can actually get built.