Asian container line eyes Jacksonville

Asian container line eyes Jacksonville    U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y.    Mineta said Tuesday during a visit to the port of Jacksonville, Fla. that a deal is in the works for a large container line to service Jacksonville with direct, all-water service from Asia for the first time.
   Port spokesman Robert Peek confirmed the port authority is negotiating with an Asian carrier for direct container service, but declined identify the carrier or its country of origin.
   “If this were to come to fruition it could have significant impact for our port because more than 75 percent of our traffic is between Latin America and the Caribbean and this would greatly diversify our trade lanes,” Peek said.
   Mineta said the new container capacity would provide another outlet for imports that are experiencing backups in other crowded ports.
   Jacksonville was the third stop on Mineta’s four-day, five-state bus tour to highlight the importance of transportation to the economy during National Transportation Week.