It is the world's most important and busiest trade route
North Americas have been and remain a key trading partner for both the UK and EU. This
makes the North Atlantic trade lane one of the most important in the global shipping industry
and it is vital that key port infrastructures within Europe are continually upgraded to reflect
the demands of shipping across this corridor.
Perhaps one of the most strategically important infrastructure assets on this trade lane is the
Panama Canal, which provides access between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, creating an
all-water link between the Far East and the East Coast of North America. The Panama
Canal is currently being widened and deepened to accommodate much larger vessels than
those which can currently transit the canal. When completed in 2015, the canal will be able
to accommodate container ships of around 13,000teu in size, nearly three times larger than
the maximum vessel that can transit it today.
As a result of the wider Panama Canal expansion project, a number of East Coast North
American ports are being redeveloped to provide access to deeper and wider vessels, which
in turn enables services currently operating between Europe and North America to utilise
larger vessels, creating multiple economies of scale benefits.
However the most exciting opportunities will be borne from the ability to create new shipping
services. Prior to container ships becoming too large to transit the Panama Canal, much of
the world’s trade moved on “Round-The-World” services. Post 2015, these will once again
become economically feasible, offering unique opportunities for those countries on the
Western face of Europe. These services typically link Europe through the Atlantic ports, as
opposed to the key hub ports along the English Channel.
Liverpool is one such port, together with its connections via Manchester and the Manchester
Ship Canal to large parts of Northern England. To this day it still remains a key trading hub
between the UK and North America, with about 40% of all trade on this route passing
through the Port of Liverpool. Indeed up to 2005, the Port of Liverpool was a regular port of
call on the round the world services still operating at that time. To recognise these
opportunities the North West of England has developed the Atlantic Gateway – a series of
linked investments to take advantage of the trading position of Liverpool and Manchester
which sit at the heart of Northern England, and the area between via the Manchester Ship
Canal. The Port of Liverpool is investing over £300m in a new container terminal that will
accommodate vessels up to 13,500teu in size. This investment is part of a broader strategy
that will see a further £200m invested in port and logistics infrastructure along the 36-mile
long Manchester Ship Canal, creating numerous tri-modal logistics hubs and an all water
route into the heart of the UK. With these investments goods can enter the Port of Liverpool,
travel up the Ship Canal (rather than the M62 motorway) and then being distributed across
the North from Manchester. This will give considerable potential to drive economic growth
and job creation on the back of these developments. For example the International Trade
Centre being constructed at Port Wirral will enable over 1000 companies from countries such
as China, India and Korea to exhibit, assemble, sell and distribute goods into the UK, Ireland
and Europe and enable sectors such as manufacturing, technology and construction to
access new and existing products at lower cost- thus delivering efficiencies and cost
benefits. This in turn will support the development and growth of supply chains by enabling
them to access emerging markets.