Baltimore is prepared, which “is having a huge competitive impact on New York,” he notes, and Miami and Charleston are hot on its heels. In fact, the latter city is creating an inland port, echoing the efforts—and likely, the success—that have taken place in Virginia.

“Charleston has two major rail lines, the Interstate and manufacturing,” to draw on, says Conway. The rails and the inland port together will enable manufacturers to roll containers on and off the rails and send them right to where they're going, rather than putting materials on trucks; cutting costs and increasing security.

Meanwhile, Conway asserts, new restrictions on how long truckers can be on the road has made that method of transport much less efficient, so there's an increased emphasis on railways and on using “intermodal distribution centers.”

Dallas, Atlanta and Indianapolis are among the destinations poised to benefit from this trend, but in particular, Conway reports, Kansas City's new center will likely prosper. “Not only does it create East/West access but also North/South, allowing for transport into Mexico. This is the only direct access to Mexico and Latin America, which is important because the labor rate in Mexico now approximates what it is in China.”

As for New York, Conway says, “retirements of longshoremen and other problems are leading people to avoid New York/New Jersey, and other cities are capitalizing on this. New York has to get its act together soon.”