Industry gathers for Miami State of the Ports

Industry gathers for Miami State of the Ports Industry gathers for Miami State of the Ports
   A cross-section of shipping industry interests gathered at the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts in Miami Wednesday, where seaport director Bill Johnson and airport director Jose Abreu offered up their annual assessments of the respective gateways.
   The annual event is organized by the World Trade Center Miami, and WTC Miami president Charlotte Gallogly and board of directors chairman Jose Perez-Jones of Seaboard Marine hosted the event before a crowd estimated at 600.
   The state of the ports briefing attracts a diverse mix of air and ocean freight carriers, as well as officials from the seaport, airport, private sector terminal operators, freight forwarders, customs brokers, non-vessel-operating common carriers, truckers and a number of support services companies.

Left: Port of Miami director Bill Johnson, shown after his February 7 State of the Ports briefing, said the seaport has 'incredible assets,' and regardless of the challenges facing the port, 'It's a positive story, not a negative story.' Right: Jose Perez-Jones, senior vice president of Seaboard Marine and the chairman of the World Trade Center Miami, stands in front of an aerial photo of the Port of Miami at the February 7 State of the Ports briefing in Miami. The World Trade Center Miami organizes the annual event, and Perez-Jones introduced featured speakers Bill Johnson and Jose Abreu.

Left: Miami-Dade Aviation Department director Jose Abreu, center, with MDAD aviation cargo specialist Bunny Schreiber, left and MDAD marketing division manager Chris Mangos at the State of the Ports briefing February 7 in Miami. Right: Karma Ruiz, left, the president of the Florida Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association, talks to Hilda Torres, the customer service manager for the Port of Miami Terminal Operating Company (POMTOC) at the State of the Ports briefing, where the Miami seaport and airport directors gave on overview of 2006 results and the outlook for 2007.