Over the past year, the global recession has tested the long-held dominance of the West Coast ports, which handle nearly 70 percent of the traffic coming from Asia, the nation’s largest trading partner. … It’s a downward trend that could be exacerbated by the ongoing expansion of the Panama Canal, which will allow for larger Asian ships to sidestep West Coast ports and head directly to East Coast markets. In addition, congestion over the years at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports have meant that shippers were already looking for alternative routes.
