California will take another hit right in the struggling economy starting April 2015. Instead of loading and unloading at California ports, many international cargo ships and oil tankers will start accessing the booming Texas economy. Texas is flourishing under Rick Perry’s Republican policies. A dramatic expansion of the Panama Canal will give more choices to massive, new cargo ships. The Panama Canal has been at maximum capacity, with more ships transiting the Isthmus of Panama than the canal was designed to handle. But more importantly, changes in the shipping industry are in play. Massive new megaships are transforming the industry. Those ships currently have no choice but to load and unload in California. This development could shift a slice of a market valued annually in the trillions of dollars away from California toward Texas and other ports on the East Coast of the United States. One ocean port can generate billions of dollars in state and local tax revenues. The Port of Los Angeles alone generates 919,000 regional jobs and $39.1 billion in wages and tax revenues each year. Los Angeles ports handle about 40% of all the container traffic in the United States. There are a total of 3 million employees in industries related to port operations. Studies project Los Angeles ports will lose between 1% and 25% compared to existing levels of trade. Greater Los Angeles has remained highly prosperous despite decades of left-wing regulations and governmental policies burdening the California economy. Trade through California ports of entry has helped keep California afloat financially. Ocean-going shipping is the cheapest mode for transporting freight by far. Therefore, shortening the distance that freight travels over land can dramatically affect the overall expense of importing or exporting products.
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