“If you build it, they will come.” I can’t remember just where and when I heard that now-familiar adage, but I’m guessing that more than a few U.S.-based port executives got wind of the exact same wisdom, and subsequently acted upon it. What that means for the global supply chain and the world’s biggest trading partner is still being sorted out, but if the early returns are encouraging, then the possibilities are endless. We now live in a post-Panamax world where the words deeper, wider, taller and heavier really mean something. U.S. ports, as a rule rarely blessed with naturally deep harbors or plentiful real estate, know that reality only too well.
