The NADO Research Foundation has released the new report Freight Transportation and Economic Development: Planning for the Panama Canal Expansion (PDF). The Panama Canal will complete an expansion project in 2014, allowing larger ships to pass through the canal. This has the potential to bring more freight from Asia to the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts. Many regions across the country are working to improve their freight transportation assets in anticipation of new volumes of freight containers. The report provides an overview of some possible effects of the canal expansion on the U.S., as well as some of the efforts of coastal ports and inland regions to capitalize on economic opportunity that may be offered by a change in freight patterns.
This report was produced through the NADO Research Foundation’s Center for Transportation Advancement and Regional Development under a cooperative agreement with the Federal Highway Administration. View the report at www.nado.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/panama.pdf.
Other reports related to transportation released by the NADO Research Foundation in recent months include:
- Transportation Project Prioritization and Performance-based Planning Efforts in Rural and Small Metropolitan Regions
- Inland Ports: Linking Freight and Regional Economic Development
- CONNECTING THE D•O•T•S, A Guide for Connecting with Your Department of Transportation
- Regional Approaches to Sustainable Development
- Exploring the Role of Regional Transportation Projects as Rural Economy Drivers (on regional transit)
For more resources on rural transportation, visit NADO’s online clearinghouse at www.RuralTransportation.org (http://www NULL.ruraltransportation NULL.org/). To view other NADO reports, including recent releases on economic development, visit www.NADO.org.
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