I don't know where commentator Gene E. Bigler got the idea that Panama is handling eight million containers "mostly to U.S. consumers this year" ("Panama Canal expansion critical to the U.S.," March 18).
The canal expansion project will have only a minor impact on existing container traffic to Baltimore from Asian nations. Traffic that originates in Hong Kong and ports to its south will continue to use Suez via Maersk Line and other carriers sailing container ships that are already too large to transit the new locks in Panama.
Time sensitive containers will continue to use West Coast ports and unit trains to serve the Baltimore-Washington region and other East Coast destinations. For container traffic, the Panama Canal improvements in 2016 will be a Y2K event. Keep in mind that no one yet knows what rates Panama will have to charge to pay for this $7 billion project.