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APM plans $900 million ocean port at Lazaro-Cardenas
Sounds to me like the new efficiencies include lower overall labor costs, lower emissions costs, and no strikes. Calf. and the long shoremen are pricing themselfs out of most markets.
Read this report with a big dose of skepticism. Having lived really close to the Mexican border for a long time, I can tell anyone who wants to learn that pronouncements coming from that country or that government are noted for hyperbole. From time to time, a few turned out to be true, but very often the plans for big developments resulted in little. In several instances the developments actually came about, but on a far smaller scale than touted, and then disappointed.
But there is a bigger issue here. Mexico is now struggling with the drug cartels, and is in danger of losing control over its own territory. (That is called a “failed state”, if you wonder, and one example of that is Somalia. Pakistan also teeters on the edge of failing.) If such a facility is built, there is a need for the cargo to travel quickly and securely out of there to its destination. Should Mexico fall into the category of failed state, that rail link would be one of the first things to break. Without a secure route out of the port, no ships will call. The US-bound traffic will just head for LA/Long Beach as now, and travel out of that port on one of two major US roads, securely and speedily. Those roads are BNSF and UP.
I’ll believe this when I see it.
I hope it works out for KCS and see them compete with UP and BNSF for some of the west coast imports, competition brings lower prices.
What timing with The Panama Canal opening up with new renovations this might hurt the Port of LA/Long Beach
the line to lazaro cardenas is one of the newwt and most scenic routes in mexico; i was fortunate to ride it during one of the few years it offered passenger service.
This is a great deal for Kansas City Southern!
What a boon for railroads in the US with access or bridge traffic from this new port. Nice to see a multinational company covering the startup costs.
won’t the ships have to go right past the SoCal ports to get to this Mexican port? how far in miles and days past the L.A./Long Beach ports will a ship have to travel to get to this new port? is it worth the extra distance to the shipping companies?
This is mostly a intra Mexico deal.
KCS and the port have been offering “service” on this lane to the US for a while with few takers. Service and cost have yet to play out against the S. Cal ports.
Not sure a new port operater is going to make a sizeable difference to take any traffic off the S. Cal ports.
Interestingly, the Panama Canal is being imporved for the larger vessels by 2014 and an all water route to the Gulf will make this routing to the US less desirable.