Caribbean, Latin America markets changing

Caribbean, Latin America markets changing The nature of the Caribbean and Latin America shipping markets is changing, with east-west trades making a bigger impact on the region and several countries growing in ways that will transform them into new economic forces, an industry forecaster told the Caribbean Shipping Association Executive Conference in Puerto Rico Monday.
   Robert West, managing director for maritime services with Global Insight, the transportation research company, said the Caribbean and Latin America, traditionally north-south trade lanes, are coming under a great influence from the east-west trades. A major part of that is the growing influence of China on the world economy, and China's trade relationship with the United States.
   West said China is growing as a trade partner with Latin America, and the growing volumes of Asia trade passing through the Panama Canal en route to the U.S East Coast would also impact the region.
   The all-water routes will likely lead to increased use of as-yet-undetermined Caribbean transshipment hubs as feeder points for the United States. However, until the expansion of the Panama Canal is completed in 2014, that influence will be limited by existing constraints on canal volumes.
   West also noted that Latin America and Caribbean gross domestic products are growing faster than the world average of 3.3 percent, and are surpassing the projected U.S. growth rate of 2.1 percent in 2007.
   All the major Latin American economies are growing faster than the world average, he observed, predicting Colombia will have an especially powerful impact on the entire region in the coming years.
   'Colombia has gone over 20 years without a recession. It has private ports that are well run. It is an amazingly powerful economic engine. The whole country is on the brink of a major economic take-off,' he said.