When I had the great good fortune to study business history with the founder of the discipline, Alfred D. Chandler, one question we pursued was the historical competition for commercial dominance between Boston and New York in the 18th and 19th Centuries. The key to New York's victory was its ability to capture the flow of goods, thanks to the Erie Canal, completed in 1825, which enabled exports of grain to flow to Europe by water the entire way, and equally facilitated imports. By becoming the nation's dominant entrepôt, New York gathered a critical mass of skills and money necessary for commerce, and became the place to be if you wanted to grow and prosper to the maximum extent. New York has remained the nation's principal port until now. The Financial Times reported: The greater Houston area has replaced New York City as the largest goods exporting region of the US, official data have shown, thanks to the energy boom that is reshaping the country's industrial...(Read Full Post)