Due to the imbalance in world trade flows, shipping lines have changed their routes and prefer to move empty containers to Asia, a situation that generates shortages and causes increases in freight rates and raw material prices.
In this scenario of new commercial reality, the operating costs of maritime freight have been impacted, since due to the restrictions imposed in several countries around the world, containers have been stranded.
After the Quetzal Port Company of Guatemala and the Port of Chiapas, Mexico, signed an agreement for strategic commercial promotion, it is expected that in May the short sea route will begin to operate.
The potential offered by the Port of Chiapas as a logistic node for commercial exchange from and to Central America, as well as with other international markets, makes it a strategic place for the promotion of the Short Sea Shipping (SSS) project with Guatemala and eventually with other Mesoamerican countries, informed the Mexican Secretariat of Communications and Transport (SCT).
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.
From January to June a total of 161,000 TEUs were mobilized from Guatemalan ports to different US destinations, registering a slight year-on-year increase of 1%.
According to the "Logistics Monitor" prepared by the Guatemalan Association of Exporters (Agexport), Port Everglades in Florida prevails as the main cargo receiving port of Guatemala, with 15% of the total sent there up to June, followed by Wilmington in Delaware, with 13.4%, Gloucester in New Jersey with 9.5%, Gulfport in Mississippi, with 7.8% and Port Hueneme in California, with 7.6%.
In order to minimize some of the impact that the Nicaraguan crisis has had on intraregional trade, the governments of Costa Rica and El Salvador have announced that they are now in a position to start ferry operations.
After unsuccessfully trying to implement this maritime cargo transport option, in May of last year the Spanish shipping company Odiel decided to end the negotiation process to operate the ferry, due to a disagreement over the setting of tariffs that would have to be charged for the service. Since then, the project has been forgotten.
Only days after two shipping companies announced the partial suspension of their operations in Puerto Santo Tomás, authorities at the terminal reported that 90% of the Salvadoran cargo has been lost.
The president of Empresa Portuaria Santo Tomas de Castilla (Empornac), Bayron Monterrosa, explained that they have lost almost all of the cargo from El Salvador, which represented 20% of the port terminal's operations.
Due to lack of investment in machinery and equipment in recent years and slow loading and unloading of vessels, the shipping company Maersk Line is to partially suspend its operations in the Guatemalan port terminal.
Due to a recovery of customers and the start-up of a new route, the port terminal in Guatemala expects to mobilize 320,000 containers this year, 8% more than in 2017.
Starting in May, the Santo Tomás de Castilla National Port Company (Empornac) will have a new logistics route that will connect the Guatemalan port with the Mexican terminal of Puerto Morelos, in the state of Quintana Roo.
From May 7 to May 11, 2018 companies working in the international maritime industry will be gathering together in Panama City to discuss technical, economic and environmental issues related to water transport infrastructure.
From May 7 to 12, 2018, Panama will host the 34th World Congress of the World Association of Aquatic Transport Infrastructures (PIANC).
A new service connects the Guatemalan port with the east coast of the United States, Europe and the Mediterranean, through the port of Caucedo, in the Dominican Republic.
From a statement issued by Agexport:
Derived from the need of the Guatemalan export sector to transport goods in a reduced time of four days, in a more efficient manner, to the Caribbean market, the country's logistics chain has a new service that connects to the port of Santo Tomás de Castilla in the Atlantic with the East Coast of the United States, Europe and the Mediterranean through the port of Caucedo, in the Dominican Republic.
Since May 26, a weekly direct service has been in operation for refrigerated cargo to go the west coast, with a transit time of 6 days to Long Beach and 8 days to Oakland, California.
From a statement issued by Agexport:
Now the export sector in Guatemala has a new alternative to reduce shipping times especially for refrigerated cargo to the markets of the United States and South America.
From July 25 to 28 representatives from the port industry in the region will be meeting in Belize at the XXXIX Port Meeting of the Central American Isthmus.
At the event, to be held at the Best Westerm Biltmore Plaza Hotel in Belize, the main discussion panels will address current issues such as the Cruise Industry, Mobility and Logistics Policy in Central America, Strengthening Environmental Port Management in Central America, Multilateral Agreement And Safety, Port Security and Protection, Gross Verified Mass (GVM), Climate Change and the Role of Women in the Port Industry, among others.
Starting from May, Hapag-Lloyd Guatemala will connect in a northbound direction with the ports of the US West Coast and once a week in a southbound direction with the European and Mediterranean ports.
From a statement issued by Agexport:
In order to improve the competitiveness of exports of Guatemalan products, reduce costs and delivery times, increase the capacity of the country, the Commission on Integrated Services for Export (SIEX) at AGEXPORT, through its partner company, Hapag-Lloyd Guatemala, wishes to report a new service that will connect Guatemala with the United States, Europe and the Mediterranean.
español
2321
