CARIBBEAN/LATIN AMERICA\\\


Issue 4 2021 - FBJNA


21


The Port of Palm Beach will be breaking ground later this year on an expansion of its intermodal rail freight facility. (Credit: Port of Palm Beach)


contributed, along with forest products, to a 7% increase in container volumes at PhilaPort last year.


Crowley Expansion By Peter Buxbaum


Perishable cargoes have long been an important segment of the trade between the United States mainland and the Latin America-Caribbean (LAC) region and demand for fresh produce in the U.S. has increased during the COVID-19


pandemic. So it


comes as no surprise that refrigerated cargoes are playing an important role in Latin America-Caribbean


have added to their fleets of refrigerated cargo containers serving these trades since the end of 2020 and have added to their services with an eye toward moving more perishables in the LAC trades, benefitting ports such as Palm Beach and New Orleans. Perishables are not the


only cargoes moving between the


mainland and points south, of course. It’s fair to


of the growth in the perishables trades between the U.S. mainland and the LAC region. The port is one of the leaders in handling refrigerated imports of bananas, pineapples, mangos, and plantains


from Central


America and the Caribbean as well as apples, pears, citrus fruit, grapes, blueberries, mangos, and dates from South America. Delaware River ports handled $3.8 billion in produce and $5.2 billion in the


broader fresh food products


category in 2020. “Consumer demand for fruits and vegetables


remains at an all-time high,” said Leo Holt, president of Holt Logistics, which operates the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal


on the Delaware


River in South Philadelphia. “Consumers are seeing the benefits of


CMA CGM launched a new weekly service last year that connects Port Everglades to the US Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, St. Martin, Haiti, and Jamaica. (Credit: Peter Buxbaum)


trade developments in recent months. Enhanced facilities and


larger numbers of containers to handle refrigerated commodities are being seen at several ports known for attracting


their share of


the LAC perishables trade, including Philadelphia, Port Everglades, Jacksonville, and Miami. Several ocean carriers


Philaport Sees Growth


Developments at the Port of Philadelphia are emblematic


say that carriers and ports are


anticipating growth in


these trades, judging from the enhancements being made to services and infrastructure and relating to a variety of cargoes.


fresh, non-


processed foods. Cold supply chain expertise in the port community has allowed for the rapid movement of all types of perishable cargo products.” In March, the Philadelphia


Regional Port Authority broke ground on a $42 million, near-dock distribution center that will add over 200,000 square


feet of food-grade


storage one mile from Packer Avenue. A planned second phase for the development includes a 217,000 square- foot refrigerated building. The growth in perishable cargoes


In Port Everglades, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Crowley Logistics recently expanded its on-terminal perishables capabilities by constructing a new $1.6 million inspection dock for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, doubling the previous capacity to 80 refrigerated containers. The dock has individual shoreside power plugs, providing continuous temperature control and eliminating the need to move the container for separate USDA inspections. Crowley


also added 355


new refrigerated containers to its fleet toward the end of last year, adding to over 500 new reefers received earlier in 2020, and deploying them


Crowley Logistics recently completed construction of a new inspection dock for the USDA in Port Everglades. (Credit: Crowley)


to Crowley’s Central America and Caribbean services. The new containers


arrived in


Santo Tomas, Guatemala, in late December to carry peak- season refrigerated shipments northbound from Central America. “We realize the importance


of having the best refrigerated equipment to meet customers’ needs during peak perishables


season and throughout the year,” said Brett Bennett, senior vice president and general manager of Crowley Logistics.


Port Everglades Ups Activity


Port Everglades’ Florida International Terminal began


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