Commentary

On Monday Oct. 29, the Port of New York and New Jersey was closed in anticipation of Hurricane Sandy’s winds and the 13-foot storm surge it brought with it.

The closely watched unemployment rate will inch up again as layoffs at defense contractors create a ripple effect through small and medium-size companies.

A year ago, we predicted new distribution channels and emerging markets would continue to expand, along with greater supply chain flexibility, efficiency and alignment. These trends are clearly in place and continuing, as are concerns about demand volatility and supply chain risks.

From the perspective of Wall Street, 2013 is shaping up to be another year characterized by uncertainty

In past essays, I may have touched on this point when discussing the economics of port operations, but I think it bears repeating, and with a bit more emphasis as our industry moves into increasingly hopeful but still challenging waters after the national economic downturn of years past.

While West Coast ports face a number of competitive challenges, the greatest threat may be internal and related to port governance.