Americas News
Smaller Ports Feeling the Effects of Mega-Containership Demand
Small and mid-size U.S. ports are beginning to suffer as the industry moves towards mega-containerships and ports that can support larger vessels, the Wall Street Journal reports.
According to reports, smaller ports such as the Port of Portland have seen container traffic move away to larger port complexes with deeper harbours and the necessary infrastructure to accommodate larger ships.
Both Hapag-Lloyd and Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd decided to stop calling on the port earlier this year, which reportedly left Portland without a regular ocean-bound container service for the first time in four decades.
“The reality is those [smaller] ports are not going to be able to sustain themselves and be competitive handling the deep-sea vessels that will be in prominent use on major East-West trade routes,” said Paul Bingham, an economist at the Economic Development Research Group Inc.
The emphasis on larger ships is also expected to intensify as the Panama Canal finishes construction.
Other smaller ports have reportedly begun to invest in infrastructure and expansion projects in a bid to compete.
The Port of Charleston is set to spend $2 billion on deepening its channel and on a container terminal, while New York and New Jersey are expecting to raise the Bayonne Bridge to accommodate larger ships beneath it.
Mega-ships still serve as a point of contention for some in the industry.
Earlier this year, it was reported that the OECD and industry groups had clashed in their opinion on the impact of larger vessels, with the former claiming that mega-ships create costs in the form of congestion and port upgrades, and the latter arguing that the ships lower per-container costs for shipping lines.
