Other key takeaways from the report include:

• Poor Infrastructure. The American Society of Civil Engineers recently gave America's overall infrastructure a D+ grade. Although ports and rails earned a C, America's infrastructure is only as healthy as its weakest link: inland waterways, roads and airports. Further developing and capitalizing on some of these more basic, traditional modes of transportation would be beneficial to US economies.

• Growth in the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes region is an often overlooked “Fourth Coast.” But this region is the undisputed leader in bulk cargo trade, processing roughly 240 million tons of cargo annually, and its ports accounted for 28% of the US. GDP in 2012.
• The Future of Air Cargo. Air cargo is expanding primarily in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific, where underdeveloped infrastructure makes air freight the primary option. In North America, however, only a handful of air cargo centers will survive, as overall volume declines and e-commerce becomes the primary business driver. Air cargo's role in the future of global trade will be defined by the tug-of-war between energy/infrastructure costs and e-commerce growth in the first post-Panamax decade (2015-2025).
• Intermodal on the Move. Intermodal transportation activity was at an all-time high in 2012, and is the next transportation growth segment in the post-Panamax era. Industrial real estate development in 2013 is directionally pointed toward port markets, inland distribution markets with dominant intermodal facilities, and a handful of dominant air cargo markets. Several differentiating trends will dictate where industrial real estate will be most in demand, including port markets that are post-Panamax ready, occupy a commodity or product niche, and are aligned with the national intermodal rail system.
• Rise of the Rail. More container cargo will migrate to rail due to new hours-worked rules and other regulations affecting the trucking industry. Rail speed, reliability, and cost now rival movement of goods by truck. And, environmental and traffic congestion challenges will enhance the movement of cargo traffic to rail.

In the report, Colliers recognizes the top 10 North American ports, including:

• North America's Top Air Cargo Port: Memphis Air Cargo Port
• Fastest-Growing North American Port: Port of Virginia
• Florida's Best Kept Secret: Port Everglades – Florida's top TEU container port
• Best Logistics: GA Port Authority & the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics