{"id":13657,"date":"2015-06-17T13:23:26","date_gmt":"2015-06-17T18:23:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/panamaadvisoryinternationalgroup.com\/blog\/?p=13657"},"modified":"2015-06-17T13:23:26","modified_gmt":"2015-06-17T18:23:26","slug":"us-business-owners-cant-pass-on-the-panama-canal-expansion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/panamaadvisoryinternationalgroup.com\/blog\/us-business-owners-cant-pass-on-the-panama-canal-expansion\/","title":{"rendered":"US business owners can’t pass on the Panama Canal expansion"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"canal<\/a><\/p>\n

This is a great article in CNBC about the impact that the expanded Panama Canal will have on small business that capitalize on it potential for increased world trade.<\/p>\n

About 16 percent of US manufacturers are looking to establish new operations in Latin America: Bank of America Merrill Lynch.<\/p>\n

Here is the commentary by\u00a0 Doug Davidson, north\/central commercial banking market executive of Bank of America Merrill Lynch; and Odalis Martinez, Miami\/Fort Lauderdale small-business banking manager.<\/p>\n

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The Panama Canal expansion is a massive infrastructure project, with major implications for small businesses.<\/p>\n

New growth opportunities for U.S.-based businesses have already nearly tripled overseas. More than half (54 percent) of U.S. CFOs already do business or have plans to do business globally, according to the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2015 CFO Outlook.<\/p>\n

This makes the final stretch of the $5.3 billion Panama Canal expansion arguably the most significant economic development since the canal opened a century ago.<\/p>\n

The re engineered canal, a project scheduled to be completed in 2016, will accommodate ships that are nearly three times larger than currently allowed. It will create an East Coast port system that will rival that of the West Coast. The subsequent developments in international trade will affect many small- and middle-market companies\u2014whether they are ready or not\u2014and across a host of industries, including transportation, professional services and manufacturing.<\/p>\n

In southern ports like Miami, business owners are already preparing for the sea change. Now is the time for small- to mid-sized businesses to shift their strategies and ramp up operations to try and get a piece of the action before their competitors do.<\/p>\n

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Municipalities and other government entities are making upgrades to support the expanded Panama Canal, from dredging ports like PortMiami to accommodate the massive ships to adding capacity for the railway and ground transport systems that move goods to their next destination.<\/p>\n

The Panama Canal expansion is one reason small-business owners in Miami are confident about their growth prospects. In a fall 2014 Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey<\/a>, 75 percent anticipated their business will grow in the next five years.<\/p>\n

Small- and middle-market business owners need to ask themselves the following:<\/p>\n