Roads and railways already carry much of the traffic across the United States, while ships using Panama must earn back the toll. Only cargoes whose volume and profit justify canal fees are likely to choose the sea route. The canal's decisive attraction is the ability to concentrate American naval power between oceans. Its absence would therefore pose a larger strategic problem than a domestic trade problem.
Notable Point · 16:23-18:20
Panama's strategic value outweighs US coastal trade
For the United States, Panama is chiefly a naval mobility problem rather than the main conduit for domestic coastal trade.