Follow what’s happening as leaders from U.S. ports are looking at shifting trade.
American Shipper associate editor Jon Shumake is tweeting from the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) conference, Planning for Shifting Trade, Wednesday and Thursday in Tampa, Fla.
Follow us at https://twitter.com/AmericanShipper as we tweet throughout the conference.
American Shipper • 2h Stephen Fry, vice president of finance for Port Tampa Bay, says the port has budgeted $72 million for improvements, development, growth and maintenance. That number doesn’t include the $63 million Big Ben Channel project.
American Shipper • 2h Papernik says P3s maximize value because they incentivize on-time/on-budget projects, realize lifecycle cost efficiencies, close funding gaps by accessing the private equity market and harness private sector expertise and innovation.
American Shipper • 2h Brian Papernik, Esq., Partner, Nossman, LLP, says availability payments for P3s is appropriate if the project does not generate direct revenue, revenue/demand is difficult to predict/manage or service quality is more important than private sector revenue maximization.
American Shipper • 2h Sáenz says that 42 percent of the United States’ market share of LPG exports in 2018 passed through the Panama Canal. The market share grows to 55 percent for LNG exports.
American Shipper • 2h Sáenz says the expanded Panama Canal can handle all but 4 percent of the current fleet of 5,287 vessels. By 2022, however, that number grows to 11 percent of the 5,674 vessel fleet.
American Shipper • 3h Sáenz says about 25-30 vessels pass through the Panama Canal’s old locks daily, compared to only about eight that pass through the new locks. He says the income is still about equal due to the size of the ships that pass through the new locks.
American Shipper • 3h He says 5,432 vessels have passed through the Neopanamax locks between June 26, 2016 and Jan. 8, 2019. He says 2,697 of those vessels were containerships.
American Shipper • 3h Esteban Sáenz, vice president for transit business for the Panama Canal Authority, opens his talk by announcing that he is retiring on Tuesday. He says Ilya Espino de Marotta, the current executive vice president of engineering, will succeed him.
American Shipper • Jan. 30 Yael Bernholz-D’Angeli, Global Head of Strategic Accounts, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd., says being an independent carrier has advantages in a climate of consolidation. But independent carriers should choose a niche market and be efficient operationally to succeed.
American Shipper • Jan. 30 Karen Oldfield, president and CEO of Halifax Port Authority, says they are working on predictive analytics to use real-time data to help with efficiencies to manage challenges they may face.
American Shipper • Jan. 30 Lamar says 80 percent of backpacks, 70 percent of footwear and 40 percent of apparel come from Chin. With a 10-25 percent tariff on those products, it’s creating space for others to raise prices too. He says they’re going through the largest sourcing shift in a decade.
American Shipper • Jan. 30 Stephen Lamar, EVP of American Apparel and Footwear Association, says textiles, clothing and similar industries make up 6 percent of the value of imports, but is 51 percent of duties collected.
American Shipper • Jan. 30 Sigmund says soybean prices fell from above $10.50 in June 2018 to less than $8.50 on July 2 as the tariffs approached. He says there was a divergence with Argentina and Brazil, but the prices are starting to equalize as the U.S. diversifies.
American Shipper • Jan. 30 Sigmund says Los Angeles and Norfolk are the two top U.S. port market shares for soybean container exports. Combined they make up more than half of the market share.
American Shipper • Jan. 30 Scott Sigman, transport and export transportation lead of the Illinois Soybean Association, says the tariffs have hurt producers from the start. Consumers haven’t been impacted as much.
American Shipper • Jan. 30 Mortimer says he anticipates a busy year on the trade front in 2019, but 2020 could be dark on the trade front depending on how this year plays out with governmental decisions.
American Shipper • Jan. 30 Edward Mortimer, executive director of transportation infrastructure for U.S Chamber of Commerce, says while administration is moving away from larger trade agreements, it’s important in the shipping industry to continue as many agreements as possible for stability.
American Shipper • Jan. 30 Arthur Adams, head of marketing services at CSX, says inland ports are growing in CSX, which offers a variety of benefits. It gives a competitive advantage, reduces congestion and improves market access for exports.
American Shipper • Jan. 30 Howard Finkel, executive vice president of trade at Cosco, says bunker fuel prices have increased 42 percent since October 2017, which was one of the main reasons lines that lost money did so. Cosco intends to reform bunker schedule and formula to monthly among other changes.
American Shipper • Jan. 30 Hurwitz says infrastructure needs a champion, and port authorities are that champion.
American Shipper • Jan. 30 Since China banned waste paper imports in 2017, other southeast Asian countries have seen an increase. The amount of waste paper exports has not changed, but has shifted around the globe, which opens new opportunities, which will likely go through West Coast ports, Hurwitz says.
American Shipper • Jan. 30 Hurwitz says U.S. fundamentals look OK, but headwinds exist and policy uncertainty looms in the near term. He says uncertainty is usually short lived, so businesses need to focus on infrastructure projects that aid future trade lane roads.
American Shipper • Jan. 30 Josh Hurwitz says both transpacific alliances as well as terminals and port authorities have seen consolidation. He says consolidating environment could be a healthy environment that helps us tackle future challenges.
American Shipper • Jan. 30 Josh Hurwitz, senior consultant of Moffatt & Nichol, looks back at the changes and recovery in the economy since the 2008 recession. He says the average vessel size at U.S. ports have increased on the order of 50-100 percent in the past decade.
Follow us at https://twitter.com/AmericanShipper/.