Transcript Soy Transportation Coalition State Staff Meeting

Impact of Panama Canal Expansion on
Soybean Farmers
Illinois Farm Bureau Panama Tour
Panama Canal: A critical link in the ag
logistics chain
Panama Canal: A critical link in the ag
logistics chain
• Completed in 1914
• 48 miles in length
• Over 14,000 (40 per day)
ships handled annually
• 39.75 million metric tons (1.5
billion bushels) of U.S. grain
transported through the
Panama Canal in 2010
• 42% of U.S. grain exports
transit the Panama Canal
• 540 million bushels of
soybeans shipped through the
canal in 2010 – #1 commodity
Source: Panama Canal Authority
Panama Canal & Soybeans
Soybean Exports by Port Region (2010)
Source: USDA
Texas Gulf
5%
Great Lakes
2%
Atlantic
4%
Pacific
Northwest
28%
Mississippi Gulf
61%
Size of Cargo Vessels (smallest to largest):






Handysize: numerically the most common size of bulk vessel; 15,00035,000 metric tons deadweight
Handymax: 35,000-60,000 metric tons deadweight; 492-656 feet in length
Seawaymax: the largest size which can transit the canal locks of the St.
Lawrence Seaway; 740 feet long by 78 feet wide
Panamax: the largest size which can transit the locks of the Panama
Canal; 65,000-80,000 metric tons deadweight; 965 feet long by 106 feet
wide by 190 feet high; 2 million bushel capacity
Suezmax: the largest size which can transit the Suez Canal; since the Suez
Canal does not have locks, the main factor limiting size is draft – currently
53 ft.; 150,000 metric tons deadweight
Capesize: larger than Panamax and Suezmax vessels; must transit around
the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn in order to travel between oceans;
above 150,000 metric tons deadweight
Panama Canal Expansion
•
•
Scheduled completion: 2014; Cost: $5.2 billion
Larger ocean vessels: 1,200 ft. long (vs. 965 ft.), 160 ft.
wide (vs. 106 ft.), 50 ft. draft (vs. 39.5 ft.), 12,600 TEUs
(vs. 4,400 TEUs)
Panama Canal Expansion
Can U.S. Ports handle the larger ships?

U.S. port working depths at Mean Low Water (MLW):
East Coast
Boston: 40 ft.
New York/New Jersey: 45 ft.
Norfolk: 50 ft.
Charleston: 45 ft.
Savannah: 42 ft.
Miami: 42 ft.
U.S. Gulf
Houston: 45 ft.
New Orleans: 45 ft.
West Coast
Los Angeles/Long Beach: 50 ft.
Seattle/Tacoma: 50 ft.
Source: AAPA 2009 Directory
Can our customers handle the larger ships?
Panama Canal Expansion

Once the canal is expanded, will the increased
throughput benefit containerized shipping or bulk
shipping?



5.6% increase in containers; 1% in bulk (Panama
Canal Authority)
Gulf ports will see a 12-13% increase in cargo
shipments (Port of New Orleans)
Which port region of the U.S. – West Coast,
East Coast, Gulf – will likely be able to achieve
the most balance between imports and exports?
Thank you
Soy Transportation Coalition
1255 SW Prairie Trail Parkway
Ankeny, Iowa 50023
515-727-0665
515-251-8657 (fax)
www.soytransportation.org
Mike Steenhoek, Executive Director
[email protected]