PANAMA CITY — A severe drought that began last year has forced authorities to slash ship crossings by 36% in the Panama Canal, one of the world’s most important trade routes.

Congestion at the Panama Canal could result in delays at Egypt’s Suez Canal, possibly affecting cargoes of liquefied natural gas, according to an official at Angelicoussis Group.

The Panama City Port Authority on July 20 moved forward with plans for its new East Terminal.

With the long-awaited $5.4 billion Panama Canal expansion completed and allowing bigger ships to carry more cargo through the waterway, some of those larger vessels are coming to the Port of Philadelphia.

The idea of Port Freeport — 60 miles due south of downtown Houston on a marshy stretch of Texas Gulf Coast — as a titan of foreign trade might sound bananas.

The $5.2 billion expansion of the Panama Canal was expected to make U.S. East Coast ports more competitive for cargo ships carrying televisions, tennis shoes and other products from Asia.

The expansion of the Panama Canal, a $5.3 billion project almost two years behind schedule and plagued by cost overruns and contractor disputes, is expected to be opened by the end of June, according to the agency that operates the waterway.

As much as 10% of container traffic from Asia could shift from to East Coast from West Coast ports by 2020 after the Panama Canal’s expansion next year, according to a new study.    

Vice President Joe Biden urged lawmakers and transportation stakeholders to invest in port-expansion projects to accommodate the large ships that will travel through the expanded Panama Canal next year.