The Port of Portland has lost most of its business, as I wrote in April. The Wall Street Journal has more on what has happened in Portland, providing lessons for other small ports. Although Seattle and Tacoma are gaining some of the business Portland has lost, they also face increased competition. Shipping companies are moving to bigger vessels, which require deeper ports:

Ports that can’t keep up face bleak prospects, experts say. The trend toward bigger ships and bigger ports will accelerate once the Panama Canal finishes its expansion next year, making it easier for large vessels to navigate between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

More immediately, Portland’s lost business has meant cost increases for companies who previously shipped goods through the port. Using the ports of Seattle and Tacoma instead increased costs by 30 percent for one company mentioned by the WSJ. Plus,

Portland officials estimate that an additional 1,700 heavy trucks are carrying cargo north on the main regional freeways each week, causing traffic snarls.

Something we certainly don’t need in the Puget Sound region.

But all is not lost:

Analysts say Portland and other smaller ports can thrive by focusing on niche routes and finding customers in new parts of the world.

(In other words, Portland’s appeal is becoming more selective.)

Meanwhile, Lee Newgent of the Washington State Building & Construction Trades Council wrote an op-ed last week explaining why labor is in favor of the expanded trade terminals in Bellingham and Longview:

The Northwest needs new infrastructure investments that will come with the trade terminal expansions. Let’s not forget: Over a billion dollars in private investments have been proposed to expand shipping at existing Northwest ports. [Gateway Pacific Terminal’s] project, as well as expansion of the Millennium Bulk Terminal in Longview, are crucial opportunities to cement the state’s role as a leader in international trade. While the expansions are made possible by investments from coal, other bulk commodity industries such as agriculture, Washington’s second largest export, will benefit.