And, Florida ports are great for goods sourced from anything on the Atlantic. However, to get the goods from China would require a trip around South America as it’s doubtful the new cargo ships can make it through the Panama Canal. So, it takes from two weeks to a month to get a cargo ship from China to California. It would probably take double that to get one from China to Florida, plus the tip of South America is a very dangerous route. In addition, a lot of cargoes will be damaged by mold if in the ship any longer than they already are.
The old Panamax chips could only carry 5,000 TEU containers (20 fott containers)
Since the Chinese took over the canal, it's been expanded and Neo Panamax ships can carry 14,000 TEU. Maximum length for container ships went from about 950 feet to over 1200 feet. Width went up from about 106 feet to over 160 feet. NeoPanamax is longer but narrower than Chinamax.
from link:
The Panama Canal announced last week the successful completion of a transit test of the container ship Tritón, of the Evergreen shipping company, the largest container vessel to transit the expanded Canal since its opening in June 2016.
The neopanamax Triton established a new record of total TEU capacity in the Canal, at 15,313 TEUs. The ship is 51.2 meters wide and 369 meters long, and transited in a north direction from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean.
“We are excited about the opportunities provided by the Triton transit test,” said Panama Canal Administrator Jorge Luis Quijano.
Container ships up to 14000 unit size can pass through the Panama Canal.