Los Angeles and Long Beach ports struggle to meet the Panama Canal challenge

A major expansion of the Panama Canal is raising alarms in Southern California, where business, labor and public officials are warning that the project threatens to dent the region's role in international trade.

The neighboring ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which together handle about 40% of the nation's imported Asian goods, could lose as much as a quarter of their cargo business by some estimates after the Panama expansion is completed in 2014.

The ports, neighboring towns and railroads have launched improvement projects aimed at keeping them competitive. But a coalition of business, labor and government contends that these efforts are jeopardized by opposition from some residents, environmental groups and others.

Original source: Los Angeles Times