In addition to the physical expansion, a number of
considerations could affect the ability of the expanded
Panama Canal to position itself as a key strategic
maritime route and international trade asset. These
include, among others:
• Developments in fuel prices;
• Sourcing decisions;
• Delivery times;
• The redistribution of manufacturing base to other
locations;
• Shifts in the source of global demand towards
developing regions and away from traditional
locations and partners (Rodrigue and Notteboom,
2012);
• The extent to which ports will be able to handle
efficiently the loading and unloading operations
involving the larger post-Panamax ships;
• The effect of port investments on both coasts of
the United States and the underlying competition;
• The canal fees and how they will affect its
competitiveness (Bloomberg, 2013).
How other routes such as the Suez Canal respond to the
Panama Canal expansion will also be important. It should
be noted, however, that while these two passages are
considered to be competitors to some extent, they also
share complementarity given a renewed development of
round-the-world equatorial liner services which benefit
both canals (Bloomberg, 2013).