| The transportation system in the United States is of crucial importance to the efficiency and competitiveness of the US cotton industry. As global cotton mill use expands, greater demands will be placed on this system, especially as the Panama Canal expansion is completed and opens to larger container ships. Constraints and improvements in US transportation will ultimately influence cotton exports, shipping patterns, and world trade through the US Gulf and Atlantic ports. The completion of the Panama Canal expansion in 2014 has major implications for altered shipping patterns throughout the US. Total cotton exports are expected to increase about two-percent; important regional shifts in trade and market share are anticipated to occur; and prices and producer revenues will experience regional shifts, favoring cotton producers in the Southeastern states at the expense of the West Coast. |
Updated 02/23/2014