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July 2011 www.sname.org/sname/mt e American heartland, where the markets served by East and West Coast ports intersect, will become the Asian cargo market share battleground? for U.S. ports. A significant diversion of cargo from the West Coast to the East Coast upon the opening of the canal expansion is unlikely. Instead, competition will steadily intensify to serve Americas heartland. e U.S. West Coast ports cant face this growing compe- tition by only doing what they have historically done: building infrastructure and assuming the cargo will come. Now, it will take the forging of stronger rela- tionships and greater coordination among the cargo transport logistics partners, including railroads, trucking companies, terminal operators ,and labor unions, that serve West Coast ports to minimize costs, demonstrate reliability, and improve consistency in order to face the competitive challenges to retain or grow Asian cargo market share. MTGeraldine Knatz is executive director of the Port of Los Angeles and president of the International Association of Ports and Harbors.