Mike Moore of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association has an interesting op-ed in the Seattle Times. As many news outlets have reported, the largest container ship to ever come to a Washington port arrived in Seattle yesterday. Moore writes,

While the vessel is impressive, it also signals a sea change in the shipping industry — a change that is already reverberating up and down the West Coast, Canada, the Gulf of Mexico and the East Coast. Simply put, vessels are getting larger, shipping companies are consolidating through mergers, acquisitions, and vessel-sharing agreements. . . .

The consolidations and larger ships mean fewer ports of call — which mean there will be winners and losers in the port industry.

Indeed, there have already been losers, including in the Northwest. For example, Portland lost most of its container business last year. And Portland's woes are affecting small ports in Washington. Just a few days ago, the Tri-City Herald reported that the Port of Pasco may end its container business and sell its crane:

In its heyday, it was used to load containers filled with hay, hides, popcorn and other agriculture products onto barges headed to Portland for transfer onto Asia-bound ships.

That business is gone and unlikely to return.

Moore argues that to come out on the winning side of the new shipping world,

alignment of investments and public policy must be achieved at all levels of government to ensure terminal operators and vessel lines see the future here as providing a reliable, cost-effective and efficient gateway for their investment.

According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, Seaport Alliance CEO John Wolfe said that needed investments in terminal, rail and road infrastructure "could be $800 million over a decade."

Back to Moore:

But it will take much more than “build it, they will come” to win in the new world of shipping. Cost, reliability and regulatory certainty are all key factors for ocean carriers, marine terminal operators and cargo interests when deciding what routing decisions to make or whether to make large investments in infrastructure.