American ports are facing challenges as older facilities struggle to keep pace with demand from larger, post-Panamax ships.

More than 900 ports exist in the U.S. These ports move about 99% of the nation’s goods and generate about $4.6 trillion toward the U.S. economy each year, Construction Dive reports. Taking into account all of this activity, many of the country's ports are outdated and strained.

Tech is playing a big role in the modernization of these ports, with many stakeholders looking to renovate structures and revamp operations to make room for larger ships.

Ports throughout the U.S. are installing wireless systems as backup to ensure they have a system that can handle the large number of mobile devices at work at a port facility, as well as providing multiple frequencies so data has numerous pathways to travel.

In addition to these updates, many ports are looking to increase automation in order to offer the same turnaround time for large and small ships. Others are looking outside of the immediate port area to unused, adjacent land in the hopes that creating a mixed-use development will help them grow their bottom line.

More than 23 million people are employed in U.S. port-related jobs.