Co., CMA CGM and Eurogate completed Phase 2. APM Terminals has Phase 3 on hold, and PSA International, which was supposed to develop Phase 4, has pulled out.

In the U.S., dwindling trade volumes have caused some ports to delay or abandon terminal projects. The Port Philadelphia has put off the deadline for bids on its planned new Southport container terminal at the former Navy yard because of concerns from bidders over dwindling trade volume and tough financing.

The Port of Portland, Ore., sought proposals last year for a public-private partnership and equity arrangement at its Terminal 6 container facility, but dropped its efforts when trans-Pacific trade deteriorated.

“The drop in volumes has put a crook in terminal operators’ finance,” Martin said. “At the same time, the ports are facing increasing problems because they have to make capital expenditures just to keep up with the growth of vessels. Their

sources of public funding have dried up as taxes have dried up. This has a cascading effect that’s not good for anybody.”

The liner companies with terminal operations are scaling back some expansion plans, while other projects are proceeding.

Hanjin Shipping declined an offer from the Jacksonville Port Authority to delay plans for construction of its new terminal. But there are mounting concerns about how long carriers will be able to keep their terminal divisions in view of their financial losses.

“The big question is, of course: How long can these carriers survive, and will any of them

be forced into selling their terminal assets to maintain a cash flow,” Davidson said. “Some carriers will have to do that, because it seems inconceivable that they can all survive the losses they are incurring at the moment.”

Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd, for one, did just that, selling a 25 percent stake in its Container Terminal Altenwerder in Hamburg to its shareholders for $447 million. The move is part of a $2.5 billion survival package for the world’s sixth-largest ocean carrier, which is trying to stave off a liquidity crisis.

Those ports and terminal-operating companies that have not diversified their