Competition Buzz: Widening the Panama Canal: A challenge for the Competitiveness of Mexico’s Ports

Authors: Aday Hernandez, Muneris Economic Consulting; Rodolfo Ramírez-Navarro, CIDAC

Mexico’s competitive edge in the maritime container shipping market may be weakened by the current expansion of the Panama Canal. This descriptive article will attempt to showcase the challenges Mexico will face in the international container shipping market, and the potential needs that will arise for Mexico’s port and maritime infrastructure. The study compares physical characteristics of ports and harbors in both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, including the keel and berth measurements for cargo ships and their probable future evolution. In this way the progressively larger capacity of ships and the widening of the Canal will force Mexican ports to start on the road to adapt in order to guarantee their competitiveness, a road that must be planned and coordinated by the country’s authorities.

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