The World Trade Center Miami welcomes you to SeaCargo Americas News, offering you updates from the industry and useful information on the fourth year of the SeaCargo Americas Conference and Exhibition.

TRADE ALERT -- Latin American Ports Conference Set for Miami, July 8-10 The global economic downturn has challenged seaports throughout the Western Hemisphere to reduce expenses, seek synergistic partnerships and compete for new business opportunities.  To address both the hardships and opportunities facing Latin American seaports, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) is bringing its XVIII Latin American Congress of Ports to Miami, July 8-10.

"Improving freight mobility and enabling a nation's seaports to be more efficient, productive and secure are the best investments a country can make to reinvigorate its economy," said Kurt Nagle, AAPA's president and CEO.  "The goal of this conference is to give Latin American seaport industry officials a forum of their own to exchange ideas, share lessons learned and benefit from the collective knowledge of their industry peers."

The Latin American Congress of Ports is being hosted by the Port of Miami, and program supporters include the Jay Malina International Trade Consortium of Miami-Dade County, the Port Authority of Manta (Ecuador), the SeaCargo Americas Show produced by the World Trade Center Miami and Klein Systems Group Ltd.  This conference is a required course for those seeking their Latin American Professional Port Manager® (PPM®) certification. http://www.aapa-ports.org/Programs/seminarschedule.cfm?itemnumber=16878  

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NEWS IN THE AMERICAS

• Central American Nations Cut Trade with Honduras
• Moody’s Rates 53 Ports as Risky Investments
• Jaxport Delays New Hanjin Terminal
• Port Manatee Commits to $150 Million Container Terminal
• Port of New York Paying Shippers to Use Its Berths
• Crisis Forces Cuba to Cut Back on Subsidized Food
• Yearly Cost of 10+2 Customs Rule Put at $20 Billion
• Venezuela Rations Dollars, Loses Billions
• Poor Logistics Cost Brazil Firms Time and Money
• CMA CGM Increase Links Between East Coast of the USA to the Caribbean
• Citigroup, World Bank Partner to Boost Trade

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SAVE THE DATE……November 4-6, 2009

Trade and Cargo Crisis Draws Leaders to Miami
With US ports laying off idle workers, hundreds of cargo ships at anchor empty and air cargo at it lowest point since World War II, the World Trade Center Miami, the Port of Miami and Miami International Airport have invited industry leaders and government policy makers-- including President Barack Obama and US Trade Representative Ron Kirk-- to a historic conference in Miami Nov. 4- 6.

Intent on sharing ideas, building business and hearing the government’s solutions, executives from the major air and sea cargo corporations serving the Western Hemisphere are lining up for the 10th Biennial Air Cargo Americas and the 4th SeaCargo Americas conference and exhibition sponsored by the Miami International Airport, the Port of Miami and the World Trade Center Miami. This is the first time the leaders of the two most high-value economic engines – air cargo and sea cargo – will be gathered in one hall to discuss major issues and opportunities and see new technologies and services.

The organizers of the conferences also expect that many top US government officials – some yet to be appointed -- will join dozens of leaders from Central America, South America, U.S. and the Caribbean to discuss trade, transport, security and logistics issues facing the industry. Charlotte Gallogly, President of the World Trade Center Miami said, “President Obama knows a good opportunity when he sees one. Miami in November will provide him the rare, historic chance to speak about his trade and security agenda to leaders of the hemisphere in trade and transport in one place at one time.” www.seacargoamericas.com www.aircargoamericas.com

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The Port of Miami will again host SeaCargo Americas. The port, under the leadership of Bill Johnson, has supported the event since its inception. Johnson believes that the event will increase two-way cargo growth for the Americas by providing a world class forum on international maritime and logistics issues and showcasing the latest maritime and security products, e commerce solutions, technologies and services.

NEWS IN THE AMERICAS

Central American Nations Cut Trade with Honduras
The Intergovernmental group of Central American countries (C-4) suspended bilateral trade with Honduras after condemning the military coup staged against the constitutional government of President Jose Manuel Zelaya.

The C-4 official statement was issued in the Nicaraguan capital, Managua as part of a Summit of the Central American Integration System (SICA) meeting on the political situation in Honduras following the coup against Zelaya, Granma newspaper reports.

The Central American group is made up of El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras, major producers and exporters of fabric, apparel, light manufactured goods and bananas, through the Porto Cortes in Honduras to the ports of Houston, New Orleans and Miami. http://www.cubanews.ain.cu/2009/0630suspendencomercio.htm

Moody’s Rates 53 Ports as Risky Investments
Moody's Investors Service said June 29 it has changed the investment outlook for the 53 ports that it rates among the U.S. port industry to negative from stable, citing economic trends, including the recession and weak consumer confidence. "The breadth and depth of the economic downturn may result in fundamental shifts in trade patterns, and negatively affect the competitive position of some ports," said Baye Larsen, a Moody's analyst, in a statement. "While many ports entered the recession with strong financial metrics, these will likely diminish depending on the length and depth of the downturn."

Moody's said that the reduction in port activity has allowed those ports that can afford to do so to begin capital projects aimed at improving capacity and operating efficiencies. "However, some ports are considering relatively large debt loads that will further narrow their financial metrics," said Larsen. Moody's said that the slowing activity at ports is allowing for capital projects aimed at improving capacity and operating efficiencies. http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2938284320090629

Jaxport Delays New Hanjin Terminal
The Port of Jacksonville has found some rays of light in the current economic turmoil extending the cruise terminal lease for Carnival Cruise lines because it plans to delay construction of a new terminal for Hanjin. The lease gives Carnival the right to use JaxPort's cruise terminal and riverfront berth, located west of the Dames Point bridge, through May 31, 2011. JaxPort will generate about $3.7 million a year in revenue from cruises, based on monthly averages this year.

The two-year lease with Carnival is possible because the timeline for building Hanjin's terminal has been expanded two years. Originally, the target date for opening the terminal was by the end of 2011, but that has dropped to mid-2013. The port does not have a firm timeline for the Hanjin construction, which still needs design and permits, but the cruise terminal would likely have to be dismantled a year before the terminal opens for business, said JaxPort spokeswoman Nancy Rubin. http://www.jacksonville.com/business/2009-06-29/story/carnival_jaxport_extend_deal_for_jacksonville_terminal

Port Manatee Commits to $150 Million Container Terminal
The Manatee County Port Authority recently approved a $2.1 million bid from Spectrum Underground Inc. to launch the first phase of the $150 million, Berth 12 container terminal project at Port Manatee in Palmetto, Fla.

To be operational by early 2010, the new 1,584-foot-long berth is designed to be dedicated to containerized shipping putting Port Manatee into competition for the first time with the Port of Miami and the Port of Tampa.

Phase one of the dredging project calls for creating permanent underground five-foot-diameter tunnel features designed to enable hydraulic pipelines to deliver dredge material to a certified uplands spoil disposal site. The tunnel features will be constructed under CSX Transportation’s mainline at the port’s front gate and under U.S. Highway 41.

“This opens the door to advance Port Manatee’s future in containerized shipping,” said Executive Director David McDonald in a prepared statement. Last month, the port signed a strategic alliance with the Panama Canal Authority to share information and foster joint marketing efforts. The Panama Canal is undergoing a $5.25 billion expansion that’s projected to conclude in 2014. Port Manatee is the closest U.S. deepwater seaport to the canal, McDonald said. http://southshore2.tbo.com/content/2009/jun/28/281042/manatee-port-authority-oks-major-dredging-work/news/

Port of New York Paying Shippers to Use its Berths
The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey has added another incentive to get more boxes moving through its terminals. Companies will receive $25 per container moved to or from the port via rail from Boston, Buffalo in New York or Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s capital. Trucks usually move boxes to those cities, which are relatively near the port. The incentive builds on a program started in January that gave box carriers and their customers a $25 incentive for every box shipped by rail to and from the port over 2008 levels.

East Coast ports are competing hard for a greater share of international cargo, the authority’s executive director Chris Ward pointed out. “We believe incentives such as this one will help level the playing field,” he explained. The incentives will also help yield more use out of a $600M investment in on-dock rail, as well as reduce port and road congestion and improve air quality, port officials said. http://www.fairplay.co.uk/NewsSection.aspx?geo=Americas

Crisis Forces Cuba to Cut Back on Subsidized Food
Cuba's communist government is struggling to provide subsidized staples to the public due to the impact of the global economic crisis on its revenues from tourism and nickel exports, officials said. Falling nickel prices and a drop in tourism have forced the government to look for ways to reduce imports, and one way has been to cut back on food subsidies.

The official Communist Party newspaper Granma recently called for higher prices for beans, a key element of the Cuban diet, to stimulate local production to make up for a shortfall in more expensive imports. "It's imperative in this desire for renovation and change to stimulate producers of staples with higher prices," the newspaper said.

Economy Minister Marino Murillo said adjustments are being made to the basket of subsidized staples provided to Cubans but he promised cuts would not go below 3,100 calories a day, still above the recommended 2,400 calories a day minimum.

"Independent of these and other guarantees, inevitably there will be restrictions on consumption," he said. Eighty percent of the goods in the basic basket are imported, which is unsustainable in the current conditions, Cuban authorities said. http://www.petroleumworld.com:80/story09062309.htm

Yearly Cost of 10+2 Customs Rule Put at $20 Billion
U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Importer Security Filing rule will impose an annual cost of more than $20 billion on the U.S. economy, according to a study by a manufacturers’ group.

The “10+2” rule will require manufacturers and other importers to provide expensive new data to the government, says a report by the Customs and Border Coalition, a group launched by the National Association of Manufacturers in December.

Based on a survey of companies accounting for nearly 60 percent of seaborne manufactured imports, the survey corroborates an earlier report issued by the NAM, said NAM President John Engler.

"The potential impact of this rule is huge," Engler said. "To put the cost in perspective, it is virtually the equivalent of doubling the import tariffs that manufacturers now pay to bring products and components into the United States."

The Customs and Border Coalition is charged with making sure that business concerns are addressed when government agencies are developing security rules and procedures that govern exports and imports. The CBC represents a broad base of companies and associations engaged in international trade and involved with global supply chains, ranging from manufacturers and retailers to customs brokers and freight forwarders.

Based on the results of the survey, the report concludes that companies of every size will feel a significant impact from implementing 10+2. The major findings:

• Compliance will be difficult and disruptive to respondents' supply chains.
• The new rule imposes permanent operational costs of $3.5 billion every year.
• The new rule adds nearly three days of additional delays, on average, to the global supply chain, thus costing an additional $17 billion annually.

Overall, these costs amount to more than $20 billion a year. http://joc.com/node/411988

Venezuela Rations Dollars, Loses Billions
General Motors Corp. is halting production in Venezuela for three months starting Friday. Ford Motor Co.'s subsidiary announced 10 percent cutbacks last week. Other automakers also are shrinking their business — but not because Venezuelans don't want to buy cars.

They're closing down because the government won't give them enough dollars to import parts. It's a crisis entirely brought on by the currency controls imposed by President Hugo Chavez, Gabriel Lopez, president of Ford Motors for Venezuela and the Andean region, told The Associated Press. "Year after year we're shrinking by about 10 percent compared to the year before," he complained.

Chavez began regulating access to dollars and making it harder for businesses and people to transfer money in 2003, after confidence in his government was shaken by a failed coup and a subsequent strike. Venezuelans must now apply to the currency agency Cadivi for dollars at the official rate of 2.15 bolivars to import goods or take vacations.

These controls have backfired with a vengeance — businessmen, companies and private citizens transferred some $72.7 billion out of Venezuela over the last six years — nearly double the outflow of the previous six years, according to the Central Bank — distorting the economy, fueling inflation and discouraging private investment.

Poor Logistics Cost Brazil Firms Time and Money
Brazil has ample cash to revamp its dilapidated transport network even amid an economic recession but corruption and bureaucracy have hampered badly-needed improvements, a senior industry official said recently. Paulo Protasio, president of the National Cargo Transport Association (ANUT), said Brazil's economy would be hamstrung in a few years unless the government and private sector found ways to improve movement of goods through ports, railways, rivers and highways.

"There's no lack of money or good projects," Protasio said on the sidelines of a seminar on infrastructure hosted by the agribusiness association Abag. "The problem is poor management," he added. "The transport ministry says it's got 12 to 14 billion reais ($6.1 billion to $7.1 billion) to invest this year but only about 30 to 40 percent of that budget will ever get used."

The director of ports and services at the local arm of Bunge Ltd., Antonio Carlos Rodrigues Branco, said Brazil's infrastructure is in critical condition because tax revenues from the transport sector have been used misused.

"The tax burden is high for the sector but the government has always used funds poorly. Maritime tax revenues have gone to fund other areas of government interest rather than rebuilding and improving ports, or they have been embezzled to buy politicians country estates," Branco said.

Despite Brazil's competitive advantages in arable land, fresh water, mild climates and ample sunshine, the lack of port, railway, river barge and highway capacity to get farm goods produced deep in interior savannas to the coast has largely offset these pluses.

Chief Executive of Hamburg Sud-Alianca's Eastern South American Region Julian Thomas said that Brazilian ports were some of the most expensive in the world and yet inefficient compared to those in North America and Europe. "By our calculations, we lose about $62 million a year due to the inefficiency and lack of capacity in Brazilian ports," he said. "Our ships lost 20,697 hours just waiting in Brazilian ports last year. That's like having two ships idle off a port for the whole year. We lose about 10 percent of our container business due to these delays, which is unacceptable." He estimated Hamburg Sud accounted for about 20 percent of the movement of goods through Brazilian ports, mostly in the container market.

"We need to reach an agreement and prioritize infrastructure projects so we can get them off the drawing board or in as little as five years everything could grind to a halt," warned Carlo Lovatelli, president of Abag.CMA CGM extends its port coverage between the US and the Caribbean.  http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN1736176520090617

CMA CGM Increase Links Between East Coast of the USA to the Caribbean.
Beginning June 15, 2009, the CMA CGM CAGEMA service new rotation will include stopovers in Norfolk and Savannah (United States), and Rio Haina (Dominican Republic). The rotation is as follows: Norfolk, Savannah, Miami, Kingston, Rio Haina, San Juan, St Martin, Fort de France, St Lucia, Trinidad, Margarita Island/El Guamache, Aruba/Oranjestad

“By strengthening the CAGEMA service, the CMA CGM Group can now offer its customers an optimum quality of service and unique port coverage between North America and the Caribbean region. Thanks to a strategic call at Rio Haina, it also guarantees new opportunities Southbound and Northbound between America’s East Coast and the expanding market in the Dominican Republic,” explains Laurent Falguière, Vice-President Caribbean and Latin America Lines. The CAGEMA service, deploying three 1,100 teu vessels, started its new rotation in Norfolk on June 15th, 2009.
http://www.cma-cgm.com/en/AboutUs/PressRoom/PressReleaseDetail.aspx?Id=7946

Citigroup, World Bank Partner to Boost Trade
Citigroup and the World Bank have launched a $1.25 billion funding facility that will help banks in emerging markets extend financing to local importers and exporters, the banks announced Monday.

The three-year program could support estimated trade flows of up to $7.5 billion. Citigroup will provide 60 percent of the financing, or $750 million. The private sector financing arm of the World Bank, the International Finance Corp, will work with other development agencies to provide the remaining $500 million.

The move is an extension of the Global Trade Liquidity Program, a World Bank initiative that brings together governments, international development agencies and private sector banks to support trade financing in emerging markets affected by the global financial crisis. That programs aim to support an overall volume of $50 billion in trade.

Citi said it will use the funding to originate trade finance transactions from emerging market banks in Asia, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, so that banks in those regions can extend financing to local importers and exporters.

"Global trade is facing serious challenges in today's financial environment, given the shortage of liquidity worldwide," said Lars Thunell, IFC chief executive."This program benefits small businesses in developing countries, which are a major source of jobs and have been hard-hit by the global financial crisis." http://joc.com/node/411906

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

SeaCargo Americas provides an outstanding opportunity for your company to showcase its products and services to a targeted group of potential new customers. Sponsorships range from banners ($1,000), coffee breaks ($3,000), luncheons and receptions ($5,000- ($10,000).To receive further information, please call Charlotte Gallogly at 305-871-7910 or email: info@worldtrade.org. Visit: www.seacargoamericas.com

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Agentes Aduanales Asociados para el Comercio Exterior, S.A.
ABX Air, Inc.
ACL Airshop
Aeroterm
Air Animal Pet Movers
Air Cargo Management
Air Cargo News
Air Cargo World
Air Jamaica Cargo
Air Partner Freight
Airdex International, Inc.
Airline Services International Inc.
Airliners Magazine
Alpine Systems Associates, Inc.
American Airlines Cargo
American President Lines
AmeriJet International, Inc.
AMX Cargo
Ana Aviation Services/Network Airline Services
Animal Transportation Association (AATA)
APL Logistics
Arrow Cargo
Atlas Air, Inc.
AUTOCLEAR
Aviacargo, Inc.
A-Z Group
Brick Mountain Logistics
Bringer Corporation
Cargo Airport Services
Cargo Flash Infotech Pvt. Ltd.
Cargo Services, Inc./Globe Air
Centurion Cargo
Chapman Freeborn Air Chartering Inc.
City of San Antonio Aviation Dept. & Port San Antonio
CNS Cargo Network Services
Copa Airlines Cargo
Correo Internacional
Department of Export Promotion, Thailand
DGM Support (North America, Inc.)
DHL Aviation Americas, Inc.
E.J. Brooks Company
FedEx Express
Flite Line
Florida Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association, Inc.
Frankfurt Economic Development GMBH
FreightScan, LLC
Front Cargo Freight Services
Global Tranportation Security Compliance Corp./Hazmat Intl. Professional Consultants
GLT
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Houston Airport System
IBC Airways
IFL Group
Infratil Airports
JFK Office Supermarket, Inc.
Katlyn Vehicle Management Systems Inc.
Kelly Tractor Co.
Lan Cargo
Laparkan Airways Inc.
Leader Jet
Leisure Cargo (LTU)
Liege Airport - SAB
Lobraus Free Port/Port of Montevideo
Logisuite Corporation
Magaya Corporation
Maromarint'l FFWDRS. Inc. dba: Maromar Shipping Line
Martinair Cargo
Miami International Airport
MidAmerica St. Louis Airport
Mission Cargo Management, Inc.
NCBFAA
Northern Air Cargo
Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport
Pittsburgh International Airport
Polet Airlines
Port Manatee Commerce Center
Port of Miami
Port San Antonio
Prams Air
Quick Caller
Rapiscan Systems Inc.
Rio Grande Do Norte Government - Brazil
Roanoke Trade Services, Inc.
Ruslan International Ltd.
Seaboard Marine
Smiths Detection
Solar Cargo
Sterling Transportation, Inc.
Strike Aviation, LLC
Swissport Air Cargo
Tailwind International Air Charters
Tampa Cargo
Terminal Logistics
The Adora Group Ltd publishers of: Freightnet.com
The Boeing Company
The STAT Trade Times Aviation Tourism Shipping Transport
Totalpack, Inc.
WFS (World Flight Services)
World Trade Center Miami, Inc.