Freight Movement and Economic Competitiveness from the Megaregion Perspective

With most of the focus on the impact of the Panama Canal expansion centered on the upgrade of specific port facilities, there is a need for further research on the impact of increased port traffic on the megaregion level transportation system. Planning on a regional scale is critical for effectively and efficiently capturing the economic benefits that the expansion will generate. This is not only important for the economic competitiveness of each port’s region, but for the entire nation which depends on the goods delivered at each port. Furthermore, if not properly anticipated, increased demand for freight movement on the highway system will result in added congestion and shortages in truck parking locations. This not only impacts the “state of good repair” of the highway system, but also could negatively impact highway safety. During this period, a section for impacts of the Panama Canal expansion on freight movement has been completed with multiple scenarios and also a section for regional economic impacts has been completed analyzing the scenarios developed from the previous section in conjunction with IMPLAN regional economic multipliers.