With Panama Expansion, East Coast Ports Struggle to Host Larger Ships

Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear this interview.

Massive Chinese cargo ships carrying 18,000 containers and measuring 20 stories high and 1,300 feet long are passing through the Panama Canal after a nine year, $5.2 billion expansion project. 

While the first ship that size docked in Los Angeles in December, none so big has yet to land on the East Coast, and it may be months before it can. 

Ports from Savannah to New York have invested billions to dredge their harbors. In New Jersey, the state is working to raise the Bayonne Bridge. That project has been delayed at least until later this year, meaning that these megaships will not be able unload in the largest marketplace on the East Coast.  

Here, The Takeaway speaks with Cathy Morrow Roberson, founder and head analyst for the firm Logistics Trends & Insights, about what these larger ships mean for East Coast ports and infrastructure.