Panama Canal expansion could bring more shipping to Western Pennsylvania

The expansion of the Panama Canal could bring more shipping business to Western Pennsylvania.

Companies that export goods from China and the rest of Asia are looking for routes to the East Coast and Midwest that are cheaper and more reliable than the crowded West Coast ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

So when the $5.25 billion expansion of the Panama Canal opens in 2015, allowing larger ships to move more cargo from the Pacific to the Atlantic, it could boost shipping through Pennsylvania from ports in the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes.

Original source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review