2017 was a good year for global trade, particularly in the trans-Pacific, with strong growth as a result of solid economic performance in the United States and Canada. We are encouraged to see the financial health of ocean carriers improving after a challenging few years. This should bring some much needed stability to the industry, which will ultimately benefit shippers.
The pace of consolidation in the carrier industry has been swift; the landscape changed dramatically, hopefully to the benefit of the entire global supply chain. Despite consolidation, some liners will continue to operate as independent brands, providing differentiated products and choices for shippers.
In the trans-Pacific, we await larger and larger vessels as they begin to cascade out of the Asia-Europe trade, replaced by even bigger ships. For those of us in the port business, long-term planning and significant investment in landside infrastructure is critical in order to efficiently accommodate these mega-vessels. Farther inland, railroads are making significant investments in their networks, with our partner CN, for example, investing $2.7B in its network in 2017. For ports in the inland points intermodal (IPI) business, preserving and enhancing end-to-end velocity throughout the supply chain is a critical success factor in providing value to our customers.
Looking ahead to 2018, we are encouraged by the prospect of a renewed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement being realized. We are also keeping a keen eye on the possibility of a bilateral trade agreement between Canada and China. Ports and our partners in the supply chain act as trade enablers, and trade agreements are critical in supporting growth.
Finally, we are of the view that the global supply chain and all of the various stakeholders involved in it need to provide cargo owners and freight forwarders better customer service by using technology to provide real-time visibility from the beginning to the end of the supply chain. Velocity, reach, reliability, and visibility are all critical components to provide value to our customers in the supply chain.