Since mid-July, the main companies transporting maritime cargo from the Port of Santa Tomas in Guatemala stopped operating the direct route to Europe, which will raise between 20% and 25% the costs of imports and exports.
After six decades of keeping the direct route to European ports in operation, the main shipping companies departing from Puerto Santo Tomás de Castilla in Izabal such as Maersk, Hamburg Sud, MSC, CMA-CGM, Hapas Lloyd and Sea Trade, decided not to re-operate the route concerned, leaving only one company with a multipurpose transport ship as an option to move cargo to Europe.
Urbano Express, dedicated to parcel services, storage, outsourcing of couriers and delivery of valuable products, reported that it bought the PCH Cargo company.
Representatives of Urbano Express explained that with the acquisition of PCH Cargo, will become the first integrated logisticscompany in El Salvador, from import, customs formalities, storage, order preparation, delivery of the last mile, to the collection of this.
In Nicaragua, the guild of transporters reports that in the customs of the country is reviewed 40% of cargo trucks, a situation causing delays because the international standard is to inspect a maximum of 10% of units.
Managers of the Association of Nicaraguan Transporters (ATN) reported that since the beginning of the political and social crisis in the country in April 2018, the time for a truck to enter Nicaraguan borders has increased and carriers can spend up to a day.
In order to successfully market fresh food, in addition to an attractive presentation to the market, good logistical performance is essential, which is expressed in terms of freshness, availability, and reasonably low logistical costs.
The fresh food sector is booming within the general food trade. For the success of its commercialization, besides an attractive presentation for the market and being able to offer a wide variety of products, also a good logistic performance is very important, which is expressed in terms of freshness, availability, and reasonably low logistic costs.
The costs incurred by businessmen in Nicaragua, because of excessive procedures and low efficiency of foreign trade systems is 25% additional to the value of the goods, while in El Salvador and Costa Rica, amounts to 18% and 16%, respectively.
A study by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) specifies that the costs paid by businessmen in Nicaragua, because of excessive procedures and low efficiency of foreign trade systems is 25.3% additional to the value of the goods, followed by El Salvador with 18.3%, Costa Rica with 16.3%, Honduras with 15.8%, Guatemala with 14% and Panama with 9%.
Transporting one metric ton of goods in Central America is estimated to cost $0.17 per kilometer, while in developed countries the cost is around $0.10 per kilometer.
Transporting cargo more efficiently remains the greatest challenge that the countries of the region face to improve their competitiveness.
Increased cargo traffic, improving the availability of water for the passage of ships and construction of the rolling cargo port, are some of the challenges the authorities of the interoceanic route face for the coming years.
Representatives from the Panama Canal Authority reported that the levels of traffic currently being reported have already reached the figures expected to be reached in 2020.
Companies from the logistics sector will be meeting in Panama City on October 18 and 19 to exhibit their products and services and take part in business conferences.
The event is being organized by the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama (Cciap) in conjunction with the National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation (Senacyt), and will be held at the ATLAPA Convention Center.
Guatemalan business leaders have denounced the fact that due to the crisis in Nicaragua that is now affecting the region, the cost of transporting goods by sea has increased between 30% and 40%.
Representatives from the Chamber of Industry in Guatemala (CIG) and the Guatemalan Chamber of Food and Beverages (CGAB), reported that due to the Nicaraguan crisis which started in mid-April and has deepened with every week that has passed, entrepreneurs have reported increases in their transportation costs caused by the difficulty of traveling through the territory under conflict.
Traffic congestion, the price of land and rents, and logistical facilities are some of the reasons why more and more companies in Costa Rica prefer to be located outside of San José.
Between 2016 and 2017 the number of companies set up in San José fell from 15,311 to 14,748, which is equivalent to a decrease of 4%, according to figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Census.
Opposition on the part of a port operator and residents in the area is preventing the development of a terminal that would speed up maritime traffic in the Panamanian Pacific and result in lower logistics costs.
The opposition that has been expressed by the current operator of the port of Balboa, on top of the legal actions filed by groups of residents, lawyers and environmental organizations, has prevented the ACP's project to build a port in Corozal from advancing.The tender was declared void in March of last year, after having been postponed twice.
Salvadoran textile companies state that the costs of labor, security and delivery times have made the sector's operations more expensive.
The recentincrease in the minimum wageis one of the factors that has had a direct impact on the cost structure of Salvadoran textile companies. Added to this are logistical difficulties in customs offices, which have caused companies from neighboring countries to obtain contracts that were originally planned for El Salvador.
From November 7 to 10 companies related to the logistics sector will be meeting in San Pedro Sula to exhibit their products and services and participate in business rounds.
The event Expo Logística Honduras 2017 is being organized by the Honduran government, and will take place at the Expo Center Convention Center, San Pedro Sula.
From October 18 to 20, logistics and foreign trade companies will be gathering together in Panama City to take part in conferences on issues related to the sector.
The event, which will take place at the ATLAPA Convention Center, will involve companies and consultants in logistics and foreign trade.
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