Allies had difficulties supplying to the vast areas of the world as it was hard to always reach on time the demands which were required of them in the Pacific theater but more importantly on European soil.
It is J.P. Morgan company
The Mississippi was used for transportation and their were ports along it before the LA purchase
The primary reason for this competition was that land in Europe was incredibly limited, meaning that those who claimed land in the New World could make huge profits on exports.