The Panama Canal's Promise for Northwest Fruit
Shipping apples by sea via the Panama Canal offers a path to New York, but only the largest organizations can navigate the hidden costs of the route.
The story, cleaned up
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The first big experiment in the use of the Panama Canal for shipping fruit to New York has just been completed by the North Pacific Fruit Distributors. According to President H. F. Davidson, two important facts have been determined: only three districts of the ten principal fruit regions in the Northwest can make a substantial saving in transportation charges, and small shippers are practically debarred due to handling charges and established trade conditions. Only a large organization with its own salaried employees at the receiving end to consummate private sales can avoid losses. While rail shipments remain standard, the water route saved approximately $2,500 on a recent 28-carload shipment carried by the steamship Ohioan, which arrived in excellent condition after a 26-day journey. However, the Distributors caution that unless steamship companies lower rates, smaller districts will remain unable to utilize the canal effectively.
“Only a large organization with its own salaried employees at the receiving end... can avoid losses which would more than offset any advantages that might be gained.”
In 1915, Kennewick's agricultural economy was looking toward the newly opened Panama Canal as a revolutionary logistics solution. Today, Kennewick still grapples with the complexities of global supply chains and the perennial struggle of local growers to get their products to market without being squeezed by transportation monopolies and middlemen.
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