From the NY Times.
A Race to Capture a Bounty from Shipping

The Panama Canal, 48 miles of water connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, is undergoing a $5.25 billion expansion that is scheduled to be completed by Aug. 15, 2014, 100 years to the day after it opened.

In what has long been considered a speed bump for major shipping companies, the canal is too small to accommodate a class of superships that came on the scene in the 1980s and went into heavy use a decade later when China became a powerful exporter.

Some of the big ships can carry three times as many containers as the industry average. The expansion, though it still will not allow the canal to accommodate the largest of the ships, will enable products made in Asia to be sent directly to the East Coast instead of being unloaded on the West Coast and then sent east by train or truck.
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Of course, no one really knows how much traffic will be diverted and whether the expected increase will make up for the costs of improving the ports.

In Los Angeles, port officials dismiss any concerns.

“The Port of Los Angeles is not expecting increased cargo diversion as a result of the Panama Canal expansion,” said Rachel Campbell, a spokeswoman.


Wishful thinking? Or just whistling past the graveyard?
Only time will tell.