b'8American Journal ofTransportation ajot.com(UNCERTAINTYcontin- allNorth Americastopcon-ued from page 6) tainer ports.inthesupplychaininclud- How Americascontainer ing the container ports. So, itports handle higher volumes in isnt surprising US ports on allthenot-too-distantfuturewill coasts are battening down thechallengethecompositionof hatches for an unsettled 2026. the nations container ports and the inland services system. t heF UtUre Forn orth West Coast container ports, a mericanc ontainerP ortS especially the San Pedro ports Irrespective of the currentofLosAngelesandLong chaos,NorthAmericastopBeach, have been for decades containerportsareprepar- the dominate gateways for US ing for a future that involvesimports from Asia. muchgreatervolumesthanHowever, in recent years exist today. thepercentageofimports AsDr.NoelHacegaba,comingthroughtheWest whorecentlysucceededCoasthasslipped.USEast A WMT tanker docked at the Port of Vancouver, BC MarioCorderoasCEOofCoastports,especiallyin the Port of Long Beach (thetheUSSoutheasthavegar-Investing in the Port of Vancouversecondlargestportinthenered a larger share. So, have US)andwastheonlyUStheportsintheGulf,like port director invited to attendHouston,NewOrleansand to keep Canadian trade flowing Davos meetings noted, OurMobile. This isnt surprising [PortofLongBeach]newwith the shifts in population Canadasseaportshaveanincreasinglyrailways and strong road connections to movelong-termcargoforecastdemographicsandagreater important role to play as the country preparesgoods efficiently and reliably to the east. predictswewilldoubleouravailability of land near ports. to double exports to overseas markets over theTradevolumesandthediversityofgoodsannualcontainervolumeatAlsoshiftsinsourcing next decade.movingthroughtheVancouvergatewayhaveLong Beach by 2050. Achiev- have also played a role, as the The Port of Vancouver on Canadas weststeadily grown over past decades, something thatingthatwillrequirevision- de-couplingfromChinahas coast will have a particularly important roleisreflectedinthePortof Vancouversconsis- aryinnovation,advancesinled to an increase in imports to play. It handles the most diverse range oftently strong ranking in the American Journal ofworkforcedevelopmentandfromalternativetradepart-cargo in North America and is by far CanadasTransportations annual Top 20 North Americaninternationalcooperationasnerslike VietnamandIndia largest gateway to overseas markets, handlingPorts index for both tonnage and containers. never before.with routings that favor going as much cargo volume as Canadas next fiveIn real terms that means theWesttotheUSEastCoast largest seaports combined. P orti nveStmente naBleSr ecordt rade Port of Long Beach is expect- ratherthanTranspacificto CruciallytheportprovidesunparallelStrategic investment in the port by indus- ing the annual volumes to reachthe West Coast. access to the growing Indo-Pacific region try and government has been vital to this tradenearly 20 million TEUs withinStill,thesearechallenges expected to represent 50% of global GDP bygrowth. A recent example is the expansion of24-years. And what is expectedfortomorrow.Today,isall 2050includingunimpededaccesstothethe Trans Mountain pipeline and terminal thatfor Long Beach isnt much dif- about uncertainty and a hope North American west coast and three Class 1(INVESTINGcontinued on page 13) ferent than the expectations forfor some vestige of stability.Trucking meets technology The Port of Vancouver has some of the best truck turn times in North America. Data from over 1,500 GPS-tracked trucks accessing container terminals in the Greater Vancouver Area is enabling efficient transportation and reduced wait times. Thats innovation in operation.portvancouver.com/trucking'