Port Everglades Expanding Reach

Port Everglades Expanding Reach Adding markets and carriers while building on traditional services.

   With Port Everglades director Phillip Allen and assistant director-business development Manuel Almira on a trade mission to China during the first two weeks of June, the port announced that the Far East-based carriers COSCO and Evergreen would start calling the port with their new China/U.S. East Coast all-water service beginning June 14.
   The new Asia service follows last fall's announcement that there would be a new multicarrier alliance offering service from Port Everglades to the East Coast of South America. That new service, which included the Chilean carrier CSAV, was related in part to the opening last July of the new CSAV/Florida International Terminals (F.I.T.) terminal at the port.
   One of CSAV's vessel-sharing partners in its ECSA service, Hamburg Süd, followed suit in March with an announcement it would make Port Everglades its new South Florida port, shifting its Venezuela and West Coast of South America services to Port Everglades, as well.
   Port Everglades has long been known as a gateway to Central America, with carriers like its long-time tenants Crowley Marine Corp., King Ocean, Maersk Line, Dole Ocean Cargo Express and more recent additions like Chiquita/Great White Fleet (since 2001) and the APL Central America Express (CAX) service that started calling Port Everglades last summer.
   The Europe-based global carrier Mediterranean Shipping Co. has been operating a terminal at Port Everglades since 2004, primarily for its various Latin American services.
   Allen noted in an interview that the China/Far East market is the fastest growing new block of business, but the port is also seeing significant growth to the east and west coasts of South America, while the Central America trades remain the backbone of the port's business.
   “In Latin America, the economies are fairly strong, the exchange rates have been good for a better north-south balance, and we're seeing growth throughout the region,” Allen commented.
   Shift in outlook.   Almira said the market growth and expansion at Port Everglades today dates back to fundamental changes in the shipping industry that occurred in the 1990s.
   Until the mid- to late 1990s, Port Everglades had followed a course of working primarily with individual carriers who had their own terminals, he noted. Crowley would be the prime example.
   But things started to change as vessel-sharing agreements and ever-larger carriers alliances started to reshape the way the industry worked.
   By the late ’90s, Almira said, officials at Port Everglades decided the best strategy would be to begin looking to third-party terminal operators that would attract multiple carriers. Even though many of the major terminal operators are affiliated with individual steamship lines, they have structured their operations to attract the business of other carriers.
   For example, the Maersk-affiliated APM Terminals carved out a section of its existing facility to handle the business of auxiliary services. The new COSCO/Evergreen service will be using the APM terminal.
   Port Everglades suffered a setback when a 20-year agreement with South Stevedoring in 2001 was ended by a bankruptcy, but that led to the subsequent agreement for CSAV/F.I.T. to take over the site.
   The agreement for the MSC/Florida Stevedoring Inc. terminal in 2004 was another key element in the overall strategy.
   Adding, not replacing.   While the new terminals have successfully attracted a wider range of carriers, the core markets are still the same, with Central America as the anchor trade lane.
   In 2005, trade with Central America accounted for 40 percent of the port's business, with the Caribbean generating 25 percent. The East Coast of South America, the North Coast of South America, and the Northern Far East each contributed 8 percent, and the West Coast of South America 6 percent. A smattering of other markets made up the difference, with markets like Northern Europe and Southeast Asia each coming in at 1 percent.
   Almira said there is a solid base in Broward County for the Central America trade, with distribution centers in the area for key drivers like fruits and vegetables. Both Dole and Chiquita have made Port Everglades regional gateways, and there is a large farmers market in nearby Pompano Beach that serves as an important distribution point.
   Yet port officials realize shipping is a global business, and there is more there for the taking than the traditional Latin America and Caribbean trades.
   The June trade mission to China was the second time a delegation has gone there, with Allen and Almira joined by Broward Mayor Ben Graber and a mix of local politicians and members of the business community.
   Noting how East Coast all-water services are becoming more prominent, Allen observed, “we may not be a gateway to the Midwest, but there is a large consumer base in Florida and we are a gateway to the Caribbean and Latin America.”
   The single largest inbound product from China is furniture, but there is a plentiful mix of goods headed for mass market companies such as Wal-Mart and the malls that dot the Florida commercial landscape.
   Port Everglades will also be an attractive option for export cargoes, in large part because it will be the last outbound call for the new COSCO/Evergreen service.
   All told, this is a good time for Port Everglades, and port officials like the new mix of business.
   “We are actively seeking to expand globally by focusing much of our marketing attention on the Far East,” Allen said when the new service was announced. “The COSCO/Evergreen service adds to our growing list of carriers, including Evergreen and Italia Marittima (formerly known as Lloyd Triestino), that provide service between South Florida and the Far East market.”
   Summed up Almira in another interview: “We now have a wide range of carriers to a wide range of countries.”