Overseas Firms Entrenched in Ports

[F]oreign firms remain deeply embedded in nearly every major port in the
country. And transferring ownership of those operations to U.S.
companies could cause serious problems in an industry in which nearly
all of the shipping is controlled by foreign interests. An immense
amount of capital from those foreigners will be required to expand the
nation’s port system in coming years as global commerce continues to
burgeon.

[snip]

“Why are there so many foreign terminal operators? There are no global
American liner companies anymore — that’s really the crux of it,” said
Peter Shaerf, managing director of AMA Capital Partners LLC, a merchant
bank that specializes in transportation.

[snip]

[K]eeping the foreign-owned companies in the ports may be essential for
another reason: the nation’s need for financing to increase port
capacity. Foreign shipping companies, eager to increase their business,
will presumably be willing to provide the funding; it is unclear
whether enough money can be obtained domestically.

Lawrence Kudlow notes “one of the very few private American firms capable of running a bunch of port terminals is HALLIBURTON.”