"Transport from the east coast US, are they going through the canal or around south america? Or railing the width of the US?"
The North West passage route is shorter and in a few short years it will become a much quicker trip to China than "a man a plan a canal, panama" and ice free all year around I'm told and all because of coal apparently [the striking primary school kids informed me last week] so the more coal the world uses the better it will be for USA and China and in particular for Virginia's economy.
[palindrome alert]
