Cargo Business News - Current Issue


Home The Magazine Current Issue Archives Blog About CBN Subscribe Reprints Conferences Overview Southwest Intermodal Port Productivity Conference Southeast Freight Conference Northwest Intermodal Port Handbooks Overview Pacific Northwest Ports Handbook Golden Gates Ports Handbook Southern California Ports Handbook Buy Handbook Newswire Subscribe Archives Calendar Classifieds Advertise General Information Upload Files

Gateway at a Glance: Latin America The high cost and inefficiency of transportation in South America has long been notorious. Many South American ports are plagued by congestion and inadequate infrastructure. South America has fallen behind Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe spend, on average, less than two percent of GDP on infrastructure, while Asian countries spend between six and eight percent. Despite tight credit conditions resulting from the global financial crisis, South American governments appear determined to invest in infrastructure to help bolster national economies. In addition, many countries have lifted restrictions on private investment in the port sector and are seeking to improve transparency, streamline processes and encourage foreign investment. After six years of robust growth, activity across the continent has slumped. South American governments have less money to spend on infrastructure projects now that prices for commodities have fallen, and demand across Asia and the U.S., South America’s top trading partners, has weakened. Some worry declining volumes and the global economic downturn may delay much-needed infrastructure projects on the continent. Panama Canal The Panama Canal is 48 miles long; it joins the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through a series of interconnecting canals, locks and reservoirs. The canal is one of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken; it revolutionized shipping between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, replacing the long and treacherous route around Cape Horn at the southernmost tip of South America. Construction on the canal began in 1880 under French leadership, but was later abandoned. The canal was ultimately completed by the United States in 1914. In fiscal year 2008, 14,702 vessels passed through the waterway, carrying a total 309.6 million Panama Canal/Universal Measurement System (PC/UMS) tons. Commercial transportation activities through the canal represent approximately five percent of world trade by weight. The canal operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, providing transit services to vessels of all nations. Container cargo is the largest and fastest-growing segment of canal traffic in terms of vessel transits and tonnage. Top canal users in terms of cargo tonnage destined to or originating in a country are: United States, China, Chile, Japan and South Korea. Third-lock Expansion An enlargement scheme to allow for a greater number of transits and the ability to handle larger ships has been approved by the government of Panama. The proposal to expand the canal was approved in a national referendum with approximately 80 percent of Panamanians voting in favor of expansion on October 22, 2006. The estimated cost of the project is $5.25 billion.The project is designed to allow for an anticipated growth in traffic from 280 million PC/UMS tons in 2005 to nearly 510 million PC/UMS tons in 2025. The expanded canal will have a maximum sustainable capacity of approximately 600 million PC/UMS tons per year. Tolls will continue to be calculated based on vessel tonnage, and will not depend on the locks used. The lock-expansion project is scheduled for completion in 2014, the 100th anniversary of the Panama Canal. Port of Guayaquil – Ecuador In 2007 the Port of Guayaquil handled 93 percent of Ecuador’s container traffic, or just over 800 thousand TEUs. The port handled 5.6 million tons of cargo, 62 percent of Ecuador’s total in 2007. The port operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Port of Callao – Peru The Port of Callao, Peru’s largest port, boasts over 3.6 kilometers of wharfage with a depth of 36 feet. In 2007, the port handled over 20.7 million metric tons of cargo and 1.2 million TEUs passed through the port. A new terminal, Muelle Sur, is being built in conjunction with Dubai Ports World. The $730 million terminal is being built in three phases and is scheduled to be fully operational by April 2011. Port of Santos – Brazil Brazil, South America’s largest economy with a GDP of $1.7 trillion in 2008, approved the three-year Growth Acceleration Program on January 25, 2007. The program calls for major investments through 2010 in building and repairing highways, airports and ports nationwide. Brazilian ports handled 735 million metric tons of cargo in 2008. A doubling of cargo flows to 1.4 billion metric tons per year is what Brazil must grow in the next decade if GDP growth rates of six percent a year are to be achieved, according to economic projections. Brazil is focusing on dredging at its major ports. The country plans to invest $625 million by 2010 on deepening port access channels for large ships as part of the program. It is also spending $894 million on port infrastructure through 2009 as part of the program. The Port of Santos, near Sao Paolo, covers more than 7.7 million square meters and is South America’s largest port. In 2007, the port moved 2.5 million TEUs. Major export cargoes at the port include sugar, soybeans, fuel oil, orange juice and coffee. Major imports include fertilizers, wheat, and liquefied petroleum gas. The port has proposed a $2 billion overhaul to double annual capacity to 220 million metric tons. The state port authority is also considering spending $30 million to improve road and rail access to the port. Port of Buenos Aires – Argentina The Port of Buenos Aires is South America’s second largest port. The port has five terminals for container, bulk, general cargo and pass engers. In 2007, the port handled 1.7 million TEUs. Port of San Antonio – Chile The Port of San Antonio is Chile’s largest port. It has a maximum depth of 40 feet and provides excellent road and rail access to Santiago, southern Chile and Argentina. In 2007 the port transferred 12.6 million tons of cargo and handled over 650 thousand TEUs. The Port of San Antonio is in the process of awarding two terminal concessions, one for grains and one for containers. Amazon River While the Amazon may not be the longest river on earth, it is undoubtedly the greatest – it delivers more water to the ocean than the Mississippi, Nile and Yangtze rivers combined. Thousands of rivers flow, directly or indirectly, into the Amazon, draining 40 percent of the South American landmass from parts of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Venezuela. Seventeen of the largest tributaries are more than 1,000 miles in length. Unlike most rivers that flow into the ocean, the Amazon has not built a delta, which greatly reduces the need for dredging. Because of its vastness and navigability, the Amazon is sometimes called the Ocean River. Navigation on the Amazon is not impeded by a single rapid or falls between Iquitos, Peru and the Atlantic Ocean. The Amazon proper is navigable to ocean liners of virtually any tonnage for two-thirds of its course. Transatlantic ships call regularly at Manaus, nearly 1,000 miles upstream; smaller ships can reach Iquitos, Peru, 2,300 miles from the river’s mouth, the farthest point from sea of any port serving ocean traffic. River steamers of more modest tonnage can navigate on more than 100 of the larger tributaries. To this day, no bridge spans the Amazon River. Commerce in the region is confined to the navigable sectors of the river system. Belem, Manaus and Iquitos are the primary commercial and transportation centers on the river. The principal industries of the valley are mining, lumbering and agriculture, but manufacturing is growing in importance. Port of Belem The Port of Belem, located at the mouth of the Amazon River, was built at the beginning of the 20th century to accommodate Brazil’s booming rubber industry. Today, the port’s major markets are in Europe, the United States and Japan; forest products, wheat, chestnuts, pepper, and metallic silicon dominate cargoes at the port. The port handles over a million tons of cargo each year. Port of Manaus The Port of Manaus is the primary transport hub in the upper Amazon basin and an important commercial center for ocean-going vessels traveling the Amazon. Major exports through the port include Brazil nuts, chemicals, petroleum, electrical equipment and forest products. Port of Iquitos The Port of Iquitos was built on the rubber boom at the beginning of the 20th century. Today rubber, coffee, cotton, timber and tagua nuts are exported.	In This Issue News, Trends & Analysis New Items One big reason for a weak global trade outlook Supply Chain Public-private partnerships: Inviting others to the table Keeping your cargo cool Compliance Corner: What you need to know about export commodity control numbers Supply Chain product review Communication technologies Features Gateway at a glance – Latin America U.S. domestic shipping looks ahead Ports & infrastructure East Coast ports and terminals moving dirt, doing deals Port Product Review Refrigeration technologies Commentary Difficult times create opportunities Who, What, Where, When Final Say
Home/Subscribe/Our Conferences/Ports Handbooks/Advertising Info/E-Cargo/Publishing Services/About Us Contact/Classifieds/Industry Calendar/Past Issues/Upload Files All contents of this site are copyright 2008 by Northwest Publishing Center and Cargo Business News and may not be reproduced in any way without express written consent of the author.

Gateway at a Glance: Latin America