In Your Dreams ...
Vol. XV, Art. 23

So now that the welfare checks are coming in ... ooops, that should read “economic stimulus checks” ... the Jacksonville Times-Union provides its readers with a sampling of the projections port officials are feeding the media. Bearing in mind that almost every U.S. port is experiencing unanticipated reductions in imported cargo, here’s what the Times-Union printed late in April:

“Mobile, Ala.
• Alabama State Port Authority increasing container capacity to 350,000 20-foot equivalent units by September and then 800,000 by next year.

“Charleston, S.C.
• South Carolina State Ports Authority/Charleston already has a 45-foot-deep channel, but a study is ongoing about deepening it.

“New Orleans
• Port of New Orleans Part of a $ 1 billion package of capital projects, port officials plan to nearly quadruple container capacity by 2020.

“Fort Lauderdale
• Port Everglades Planning to deepen channel from 45 to 49 feet.

“Also looking into increasing container capacity.

“Jacksonville
• Jacksonville Port Authority Planning to deepen channel to 45 tp 50 feet. Also, increasing container capacity with the addition of the TraPac terminal, expected to open within the next year. A pending deal with Korean shipping company Hanjin could help triple the port’s container traffic.

“Savannah
• Georgia Ports Authority Super Ports Authority ‘Super post-Panamax’ cranes, which stretch 367 feet above the water, arrived in February. The port is a major competitor for Jacksonville’s shipping business. Georgia Ports Authority officials did not respond to a request to learn more about improvement plans ...”

The writer of this Times-Union news report, surmises that there is no “specific time line on this, but port officials believe 1,000-foot ships carrying 8,000 TEUs should be coming soon,” and without batting an eye he adds, “depending on economic factors such as product demand and fuel prices ... the Jacksonville Port Authority, like many of its counterparts throughout the Gulf of Mexico and Eastern Seaboard, is eager to capture as much of that cargo as possible.”

[They want to spend billions, but “product demand” isn’t assured? In your dreams.]