Unknown Unknowns: US container port resilience in the new Panama Canal expansion era

The resilience of US container ports is increasingly challenged by disruptive and stressful events such as regulatory change, adverse weather, larger container ship sizes, changing patterns of trade and sea routes, and importantly, the still to be quantified effects of enlarging the capabilities and capacity of the Panama Canal. Port sustainability requires the operators to be resilient in their practices, to maintain existing performance levels and to increase market share when opportunity presents. The primary question that this paper addresses is how the US container port might be affected by adverse events, how it transacts its resilience processes, and what key nodal actors within the port networks might become crucial to these processes. A conceptual framework for mapping port system resilience is developed to highlight the key relationships and feedback loops. The framework provides the basis for further research to assist US ports’ survival and growth.