{"261441":{"#nid":"261441","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Master\u2019s Students Examine Impact of the Panama Canal Expansion on China-U.S. Transportation Networks","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe expansion of the Panama Canal has been the focus of many logistics industry discussions for almost a decade now. The debate over the potential impact of the Canal\u2019s considerable development plans begs the question of whether widening this heavily trafficked waterway will lead to a seismic shift in China-U.S. supply chains as some analysts predict or simply have a subtle impact.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStudents from two of Georgia Tech\u2019s Stewart School of Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering\u2019s graduate programs paired up to examine this issue. They were from the Executive Master\u2019s Program in International Logistics \u0026amp; Supply Chain Strategy (EMIL-SCS), which leads to a Master of Science in International Logistics, and the Master of Science in Supply Chain Engineering (MS SCE) program. Professor John Vande Vate, who teaches in both programs, pulled together students from the two programs to collaborate on this project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe collaboration is valuable to both sides,\u201d said Vande Vate.\u0026nbsp; \u201cThe executive master\u2019s students bring broader perspective and industry knowledge and the MS SCE students bring technical and modeling skills. Combining the qualitative and quantitative perspectives leads to a much stronger result, and working with the executives in the EMIL-SCS program is a valuable experience and networking opportunity for the MS SCE students.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe students recognized early on the value of collaborating as a team. \u201cThe group dynamic was critical to the success of our Panama Canal impact modeling project and our graduate degree education as a whole,\u201d says Jim Blaeser, publisher of American Shipper magazine and student in the EMIL-SCS program. \u201cEach member of our group brought a unique perspective and complementary skills to the table. The value of this group exceeded the sum of its parts. As a result, our sponsor received a useful and insightful model while the team members were afforded the opportunity to learn and grow in new directions.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe students were able to predict the possible impacts of the Panama Canal expansion by working with a U.S.-based, national big-box retailer and highlighting the variables that would dictate the company\u2019s supply chain strategy in the future. Essentially their analysis suggests that a meaningful increase in domestic transportation rates \u2014 perhaps stemming from a long anticipated capacity crunch \u2014 will increase the total cost but have no impact on shipping decisions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team developed a model of the retailer\u2019s network to evaluate several scenarios based on changes to key variables (e.g., transportation cost elements, transit times, and service levels). Interviews and third party research provided a picture of how the shipping lines were likelyto change their services after the Canal completed its expansion project. Adjusting the model of the retailer\u2019s network to reflect the likely changes to ocean rates and fuel costs suggests that:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2022 Freight volumes from China to the U.S. East Coast will increase by nearly 50 percent over 2011 level,\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2022 Volumes to the Pacific Northwest will suffer the greatest loss with nearly half of the volume moving elsewhere in the network, and\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2022 The Western limit of territory served by ports located in the U.S. East Coast will expand from the Ohio Valley out towards the Mississippi River.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter adjusting for a 10 percent increase in domestic transportation rates, the model suggests no additional changes to the retailer\u2019s network in terms of cargo allocations\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe expansion of the Panama Canal has been the focus of many logistics industry discussions for almost a decade now. Students from two of Georgia Tech\u2019s Stewart School of Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering\u2019s graduate programs paired up to examine the issue of whether widening this heavily trafficked waterway will lead to a seismic shift in China-U.S. supply chains as some analysts predict or simply have a subtle impact.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27868","created_gmt":"2013-12-17 08:38:54","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:33","author":"Lizzie Millman","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-12-17T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2013-12-17T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"261901":{"id":"261901","type":"image","title":"Master\u2019s students examine the impact of the Panama Canal expansion on China-U.S.transportation networks","body":null,"created":"1449243999","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:46:39","changed":"1475894948","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:08","alt":"Master\u2019s students examine the impact of the Panama Canal expansion on China-U.S.transportation networks","file":{"fid":"198412","name":"panama_canal.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/panama_canal_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/panama_canal_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":179843,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/panama_canal_0.jpg?itok=HkfsqOms"}}},"media_ids":["261901"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:barbara.christopher@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara Christopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["bchristopher@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}