TOP CONTAINER PORTS: LA & NY … AND THEN EVERYONE ELSE

Archives, Features, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, Top Ports

TOP CONTAINER PORTS: LA & NY … AND THEN EVERYONE ELSE

November 12th, 2020 Matt Coker Leave a comment

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers compiles annual lists of the top container ports by volume, with the figures for 2018 being the most recently released.

The list shows Los Angeles handled more than 1 million more containers than its neighbor Long Beach did, but Long Beach dealt with nearly a million more than third-place New York/New Jersey did.

That those three occupied the first three U.S. slots on the Army Corps’ list is not surprising to anyone who has followed container traffic in recent years. What may raise eyebrows is how many more containers those ports handle compared to everyone else in the country.

Los Angeles took in 19.5 percent of the nation’s containers in 2018, compared to 17.9 percent the year before. Indeed, Long Beach and New York/New Jersey saw year-to-year growth under the same metrics. Long Beach containers accounted for 16.7 percent of the nation’s total for 2018, up from 14.4 percent the year before. New York/New Jersey grabbed 14.8 percent in ’18, compared to 12.8 percent in ’17.

Combined, Los Angeles and Long Beach, whose ports essentially border one another, accounted for 36.2 percent of the containers handled in America in 2018, up from 32.3 percent the year prior. If you combine the Californians with New York/New Jersey, the three-port complexes handled more than half of the containers in the U.S. in 2018, at 51.1 percent. That’s up from 45.1 percent in 2017.

While Savannah handled more than 2 million fewer containers than New York/New Jersey to land at No. 4, the Georgia Ports Authority port had an impressive growth of 305,760 units from 2017 to ’18, which was better than top dog Los Angeles.

Others who beat LA’s 115k in that metric were (in order of impressiveness): Houston (240k); Jacksonville (237k); Charleston (138k); Seattle/Tacoma, which together form the Northwest Seaport Alliance (132k); and Oakland (125k).

Below is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ list of the top 15 container ports in order, with their totals for 2018, 2017 and how many more containers that represented—because no one on the list handled fewer containers than they did the year before.

Because no 2018 data is indicated for some ports, but their 2017 totals are included, these facilities are indented about where they would fall if they pulled in similar numbers of containers in ’18. However, those ports are not counted among the top 15 as presented by Global Trade.

-Los Angeles
2018: 9,458,749
2017: 9,343,192
+115,557

-Long Beach
2018: 8,091,029
2017: 7,544,507
+546,522

-New York/New Jersey
2018: 7,179,792
2017: 6,710,817
+468,975

-Savannah
2018: 4,351,976
2017: 4,046,216
+305,760

-Seattle/Tacoma Alliance
2018: 3,797,627
2017: 3,665,329
+132,298

-Hampton Roads
2018: 2,855,914
2017: 2,841,016
+14,898

-Houston
2018: 2,699,850
2017: 2,459,107
+240,743

-Oakland
2018: 2,546,357
2017: 2,420,836
+125,521

-Charleston
2018: 2,316,255
2017: 2,177,550
+138,705

-San Juan (Puerto Rico)
2017: 1,319,572

-Jacksonville
2018: 1,270,480
2017: 1,033,070
+237,410

-Honolulu
2017: 1,204,568

-Everglades
2018: 1,108,465
2017: 1,076,893
+31,572

-Miami
2018: 1,084,000
2017: 1,024,338
+59,662

-Baltimore
2018: 1,023,161
2017: 962,484
+60.677

-Philadelphia
2018: 600,000
2017: 545,408
+54,592

-New Orleans
2018: 591,532
2017: 532,597
+58,935

Archives, Features, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, Ocean Ports

America’s Expanding Ports: Ports Investing to Improve Their Market Share

November 9th, 2020 Matt Coker Leave a comment

What do ports in Maryland, Georgia, Texas, Florida, and California have in common?

A commitment to future growth through current investment. Operators of the ports that follow are not content with the status quo. They see opportunities on the horizon and know that to grab them, they must continually pour in resources (or locate them from private and/or government partners) to expand port operations.

This is happening at so many ports around the country that listing them all would run head-on into our space constraints. What we decided to do instead was simply highlight just some of those expanding that have got our notice lately. If you feel your favorite port should have been included, drop us a line so we’ll make extra sure to check it out the next time around.

PORT OF BALTIMORE

A $116.4 million public-private partnership (P3) between the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Maryland Port Administration and Ports America Chesapeake is already paying dividends. Among the projects that has been completed as part of the 50-year agreement was the deepening of the Seagirt Marine Terminal, which Ports America Chesapeake operates at the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore.

A new record was set at Seagirt Marine Terminal at 11p.m. on Aug. 18, when the 5,536th and final container move over three days was accomplished by longshore workers handling the Maersk Edinburgh. The largest number of moves for a single ship in the Port’s 314-year history would not have been possible had the berth not been deepened to 50 feet to accommodate ships like the Maersk Edinburgh.

In addition to the deeper berth, the P3 agreement, which was forged in 2009 in the wake of a national recession, includes the creation of a second 50-foot berth, the installation of four supersized container cranes and $100 million in improvements for Maryland roads, bridges and tunnels.

“This record container activity is a significant milestone for the Port of Baltimore and a sign that the maritime shipping industry is coming back and fueling Maryland’s economic recovery,” says Governor Larry Hogan. “The container growth at the Port of Baltimore shows the benefits of public-private partnerships in delivering infrastructure more quickly and stretching state and federal dollars by also relieving the state of the long-term infrastructure maintenance costs.”

PORT OF SAVANNAH

The Port of Savannah handled 4.44 million twenty-foot equivalent container units in Fiscal Year 2020, down less than 1 percent compared to the previous year. Despite COVID-19 disruptions, total tons crossing all Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) docks reached a record 37.77 million, up 0.6 percent, or 223,000 tons, compared to FY2019. Container tons grew 2 percent (560,440 tons) to reach 33.5 million tons for the year, another record.

As you can see, these challenging times were no match for the GPA’s ongoing expansion projects, which include the harbor deepening and Mason Mega Rail.

Projects such as these have quickened the pace of commercial infrastructure investment in Savannah. According to the latest report from Colliers International, 5 million square feet of industrial space are currently under construction in the Savannah market. In addition, Savannah is home to a total of 74.4 million square feet of warehouse and manufacturing space.

“What sets Savannah apart from the competition is the sheer capacity of the port’s ever-expanding footprint, on and off the terminal,” says Will McKnight, GPA’s board chairman. “Not only are we focused on the future and providing even greater value to our customers, but we have nearly unlimited potential and capacity to grow our business.”

PORT MANATEE

The port in Palmetto, Florida, is advancing an $8.3 million project to nearly double the size of its dockside container yard with the July 28 approval of a construction contract by the Manatee County Port Authority.

The container yard expansion, targeted for June 2021 completion, promises to add 9.3 acres to the existing 10-acre paved facility adjoining Port Manatee’s Berth 12 and 14 docks. “Expansion of the dockside container yard to encompass 19.3 acres not only will accommodate dynamic demand from such longtime users as Port Manatee-based World Direct Shipping and Del Monte Fresh Produce Co. but also will literally and figuratively pave the way for further global commerce opportunities at our flourishing seaport,” says Carlos Buqueras, Port Manatee’s executive director.

The expansion project is a cornerstone of the two-year, $38 million capital enhancement initiative underway at Port Manatee, Buqueras adds.

“In these challenging times for our nation, Port Manatee continues to thrive as a vital economic engine for our region and beyond, serving as a preferred gateway for numerous key commodities,” says Priscilla Whisenant Trace, chairwoman of the Manatee County Port Authority. “With the expansion of container yard capabilities, Port Manatee is opening the proverbial door for even greater international trade and accompanying well-paying jobs.”

PORT EVERGLADES

Broward County’s Port Everglades announced in May it was advancing $1.6 billion in infrastructure improvements that are underway and expected to be completed in the next five years.

Included are: a $471 million berth expansion, the largest infrastructure project in the Florida port’s history; the addition of three Super Post-Panamax container-handling gantry cranes, valued at $41 million; the deepening the port’s navigation channels from 42 feet to 48-50 feet and widening narrower sections of the channel for safe vessel passage; a new international logistics center, which is currently under construction through a public-private partnership; and petroleum slip improvements.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is certainly impacting this year’s bottom line, but we are fortunate that Port Everglades’ diversified business sectors of cargo, cruise, and petroleum can address a dip in one business sector and be balanced out with stability in other revenue-generating business sectors, says Glenn Wiltshire, acting chief executive and port director. “As a result, Port Everglades has a history of financial success and has budgeted for several sizeable construction projects that are moving forward at a rapid pace with little disruption from the virus.” said Port Everglades’

PORT OF JACKSONVILLE (JAXPORT)

In February, the federal government allocated $93 million for the next phase of deepening the Jacksonville shipping channel to 47 feet from its current depth of 40 feet. A milestone for the project and a major victory for that region of Florida, the federal government has now fully funded the government’s portion of deepening through JAXPORT’s Blount Island Marine Terminal.

Upon completion of the deepening project, the SSA Jacksonville Container Terminal at Blount Island will feature a vessel turning basin and have the ability to simultaneously accommodate two post-Panamax vessels. In November 2019, the U.S Department of Transportation awarded JAXPORT a $20 million grant to enable the facility to accommodate more containers on an expanded footprint.

“This is the first time JAXPORT has ever received funding in the president’s budget, which speaks volumes about the significance of this project to the Southeast U.S. and the nation,” says JAXPORT CEO Eric Green. “We are extremely grateful to our federal, state and local partners, as well as the dedication and leadership of the JAXPORT Board, for their steadfast support of our growth and the 138,000 jobs Jacksonville’s seaport generates in Florida.”

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry summed it up by saying, “This is a significant win for Jacksonville and as I have said before, the continued support from our state and federal partners demonstrates the strength of JAXPORT’s future.”

PORT OF HUENEME

In June, when Pacific Coast Business Times named Kristin Decas, Port of Hueneme CEO & port director, as a Top Woman in Business for the sixth year in a row, and awarded Jess Herrera, the port’s longest-serving commissioner from the Oxnard Harbor District, with the 2020 Latino Leadership Award, both honorees separately mentioned the port’s recent growth as being among their proudest accomplishments.

Herrera, whose 54 years of service at the Port of Hueneme began when he was hired as a longshoreman there, has played a vital role in expanding the port’s infrastructure, especially with his shepherding of a historic joint use agreement partnership with Naval Base Ventura County that increased port capacity as well as revenue for Hueneme and the U.S. Navy.

Decas, who became the first woman to lead the Port of New Bedford in its more than 50-year history before becoming the first woman to lead the Port of Hueneme in its 83-year history, has seen the latter facility achieve record-breaking cargo growth of 23 percent, handling over 1.6 million metric tons of cargo. Hueneme moves $9.5 billion in goods each year and consistently ranks among the top 10 U.S. ports for automobiles and fresh produce. Port operations bring $1.7 billion in economic activity and create 15,834 trade-related jobs.

“Our port has been able to grow and succeed because of the many partnerships and support from our community,” Decas said upon receiving her accolade from the Pacific Coast Business Times. “Together, we have been able to grow jobs, increase exports from our local industries by 66 percent and become the Greenest Port in the United States.”

PORT OF BROWNSVILLE

With more than $43 billion worth of projects currently in the works, the Port of Brownsville is transforming the Rio Grande Valley by creating positive investment opportunities and jobs.

What’s that? You want numbers? Gotcha: The only deepwater port on the U.S./Mexico border supports a total of $3 billion in total economic activity for Texas and is responsible for 51,468 jobs within the Lone Star State, according to an independent analysis conducted by Martin Associates on port activity for the 2018 calendar year.

Those jobs related to cargo moving through the marine terminals and shipbuilding and rig repair activities resulted in personal income that totaled at $2.6 billion, concluded the analysis, which also found more than $200 million in tax revenue was generated by the Brownsville port’s activities.

“The data clearly show that the Port of Brownsville is a remarkable resource with a reach extending far beyond the Rio Grande Valley,” says economist John Martin, PhD, who authored the report. “With more than 51,000 jobs related to the port’s operations and more than $3 billion in total economic impact across the state, the port is a significant driver of opportunities today and in the future.”

Archives, Features, Global Trade Daily, Top Ports

BEHOLD, IT’S AMERICA’S TOP 50 POWER PORTS

October 9th, 2020 Matt Coker Leave a comment

Some ports excel in imports, some in exports, others in domestic trade and still more in international trade. America’s Top 50 Power Ports are the highest ranked in total trade, however.

Based on their U.S. port ranking by cargo volume in 2018, the fabulous fifty are:

1. South Louisiana, LA

Total tons: 275,512,500

Stretching 54 miles along the Mississippi River, South Louisiana is the largest tonnage port district in the western hemisphere.

2. Houston, TX

Total tons: 268,930,047

Handling about 70 percent of all the container cargo through the Gulf of Mexico coast, the Houston channel serves nearly as many calls as Los Angeles, Long Beach and New York/New Jersey combined.

3. New York/New Jersey

Total tons: 140,281,992

The gateway to one of the most concentrated consumer markets in North America, the Port of New York and New Jersey is the largest on the East Coast.

4. Beaumont, TX

Total tons: 100,244,231

The world-class intermodal transportation facility is served by three class one rail carriers, located within two miles of Interstate 10, and situated on a deep-water channel with a 40-foot draft.

5. Corpus Christi, TX

Total tons: 93,468,323

Positioned on the western Gulf of Mexico with a 36-mile, 47 foot (MLLW) deep channel, the port is a major gateway to international and domestic maritime commerce, with railroad and highway network connectivity via three class one rail carriers and two major interstate highways.

6. New Orleans, LA

Total Tons: 93,332,543

A modern multimodal gateway for global commerce, the port’s competitive edge comes from an ability to deliver seamless, integrated logistics solutions between river, rail and road.

7. Long Beach, CA

Total tons: 86,536,154

The second-busiest container seaport in the U.S. is the premier American gateway for trans-Pacific trade and a trailblazer in innovative goods movement, safety, environmental stewardship and sustainability.

8. Baton Rouge, LA

Total tons: 82,234,811

Strategically located on the Mississippi River, the Port of Greater Baton Rouge is a major driver of the state’s economy, ranking among the U.S. top ports in total tonnage.

9. Hampton Roads, VA

Total tons: 71,774,349

The Port of Virginia’s network of terminals can process more than 4 million containers on an annual basis, serving ultra-large containers vessels arriving from across the Atlantic, inland barge service traveling up the James River as well as rail as the No. 1 in volume on the East Coast.

10. Los Angeles, CA

Total tons: 67,806,137

Billed as “America’s Port” (it’s registered!), the nation’s premier gateway for international commerce is the busiest seaport in the Western Hemisphere, handling diverse commodities from avocado to zinc.

11. Mobile, LA

Total tons: 58,635,622

Alabama’s only seaport to ensure economies of scale and competitive rates for mining, manufacturing, agribusiness and retail/distribution shippers, Mobile just watched the ink dry on a pact that will modernize facilities and deepen and widen the shipping channel.

12. Lake Charles, LA

Total tons: 56,908,344

The deepwater seaport on the Calcasieu Ship Channel, north of the U.S. Gulf Coast, opened in 1926 and today is the 12th-busiest port district in the nation, based on tonnage, as ranked by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

13. Plaquemines, LA

Total tons: 56,850,137

Located at the mouth of the Mississippi River on the Gulf of Mexico, the Port of Plaquemines is about 20 miles south of New Orleans.

14. Baltimore, MD

Total tons: 44,778,259

The Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore handled a new record of 43.6 million tons of cargo in 2019, including more than 11 million tons of general cargo at the state-owned public terminals for the first time ever. The number of vehicles (857,890) topped all U.S. ports for the ninth straight year.

15. Texas City, TX

Total tons: 42,682,311

The privately-owned port, whose shareholders include Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway, is the 15th largest port in the country and fourth-largest in Texas.

16. Savannah, GA

Total tons: 41,273,947

Savannah joins fellow deepwater port Brunswick and inland terminals in Chatsworth, Bainbridge and Columbus to serve as Georgia’s gateway to the world, especially for raw materials and finished products bound for, well, all over the globe.

17. Port Arthur, TX

Total tons: 39,851,706

The ultimate direct transfer facility for international cargo shipping is positioned on the Gulf of Mexico, where it competitively handles any type of commodity.

18. Cincinnati, OH-Northern Kentucky

Total tons: 38,534,187

Part of the Ohio-Mississippi River Waterway on the banks of the Ohio River, the port is at the center of a large metropolitan area that occupies parts of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.

19. Louis, MO/IL

Total tons: 37,426,710

The Port of Metropolitan St. Louis is 70 miles long, situated on both sides of the Mississippi River, and is the 19th largest U.S. port according to the 2018 US Army Corps data. The northernmost ice- and lock-free port on the Mississippi, the port is served by six class one rail carriers, seven Interstates and two international airports.

20. Duluth-Superior, MN/WI

Total tons: 35,102,200

Long known as the Great Lakes “bulk cargo capital,” the port accommodates the maritime transportation needs of a wide range of industries, ranging from agriculture, forestry, mining and manufacturing to construction, power generation and passenger cruising.

21. Huntington – Tristate

Total tons: 34,245,342

Centered on the Ohio River in Huntington, the Port of Huntington Tri-State is the largest inland port in the U.S. and the largest river port in West Virginia.

22. Tampa, FL

Total tons: 31,006,487

Serving container ships, tank ships and cruise lines, Port Tampa Bay is the largest port in Florida and only 25 sea miles from the Gulf of Mexico.

23. Pascagoula, MS

Total tons: 27,358,043

The deepwater port on the southeastern coast of Mississippi consistently ranks in the top tier of ports in the nation related to foreign trade. Primary exports include frozen foods, general cargo, grains, machinery, forest products, fertilizer and petroleum products.

24. Richmond, CA

Total tons: 27,255,061

With its roots in petroleum and liquid bulk cargos, Richmond has expanded its dry bulk, breakbulk and containerized cargo handling capabilities and has increased its automobile processing facilities. Today, Richmond ranks No. 1 in liquid bulk and automobile tonnage among ports on San Francisco Bay.

25. Philadelphia, PA

Total tons: 26,656,373

Located on the Delaware River in Philadelphia, the port’s publicly owned marine terminals are managed by the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority (a.k.a. PhilaPort, an agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that is responsible for six other ports that combined create one of the largest shipping areas of the country.

26. Seattle, WA

Total tons: 26,046,093

The port keeps Washington state connected through aviation, maritime, logistics, trade and travel services. Its scope includes Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac), and in 2014 an alliance was formed between the ports of Seattle and Tacoma.

27. Valdez, AK

Total tons: 25,807,750

Valdez is a fishing port, both for commercial and sport fishing, but freight also moves through bound for the interior of Alaska. Valdez is connected to the inland by the Richardson Highway, while also serving as a port of call in the Alaska Marine Highway ferry system.

28. Freeport, TX

Total tons: 25,446,078

Billed as one of the most accessible Texas ports “by land and by sea,” Port Freeport is administered as an independent governmental body authorized by an act of the Texas Legislature in 1925. Located about 60 miles south of Houston, the port is accessible via state highway 36, and highway 288.

29. Port Everglades, FL

Total tons: 25,022,351

Port Everglades is one of Broward County’s leading economic engines, generating nearly $32 billion in economic activity annually while supporting 13,000 local jobs for people who work at the Port and for companies that provide direct services.

30. Charleston, SC

Total tons: 24,822,636

The South Carolina seaport’s facilities span three municipalities—Charleston, North Charleston and Mount Pleasant—with five public terminals handling containers, motor vehicles and other rolling stock, non-containerized goods and project cargo. Privately owned and operated facilities at the port handle bulk commodities such as coal, steel and petroleum.

31. Portland, OR

Total tons: 23,228,424

‪Oregon’s largest port ships more than 11 million tons of cargo a year, including grain, minerals, forest products, and autos. The port partners with the region’s businesses and shippers to develop custom shipping solutions that deliver results.

32. Tacoma, WA

Total tons: 22,849,184

Seattle’s Northwest Seaport Alliance partner jointly manages marine cargo operations to strengthen the Puget Sound gateway. Tacoma is strategically located in the northwest corner of the U.S., where the focus is on efficiency, reliability, and customer service.

33. Pittsburgh, PA

Total tons: 21,567,015

The port spans a 12-county area, encompassing essentially all 200 miles of commercially navigable waterways in southwestern Pennsylvania, including the three major rivers in this region: the Allegheny, the Monongahela, and the Ohio.

34. Oakland, CA

Total tons: 19,373,876

The first major port on the Pacific coast to build terminals for container ships, Oakland went on in 2002 to develop an intermodal container handling system to handle a high volume of cargo.

35. Jacksonville, FL

Total tons: 17,999,036

JAXPORT is a global gateway to the nation’s third-largest state, serving dozens of ocean carriers and offering competitive transit times to 140 ports in more than 70 countries. JAXPORT boasts of 100 trucking firms and 40 daily trains via two class one rail carriers and a regional rail line.

36. Two Harbors, MN

Total tons: 17,208,207

You will mostly see “lakers” (ships that travel within the Great Lakes) in Twin Harbors’ Agate Bay, but more and more there are also ocean-going vessels arriving to load iron ore that was delivered by rail from mines in northern Minnesota.

37. Chicago, IL

Total tons: 16,866,792

Located on the Chicago River on Lake Michigan, the port has a rich history as a center of commercial shipping, with fur traders choosing it as a distribution point for their products. Operated by the Illinois International Port District, Chicago consists of various port facilities, including a terminal with 100 acres of warehouses and facilities.

38. Boston, MA

Total tons: 16,163,552

The major seaport in Boston Harbor and adjacent to the City of Boston is the largest port in Massachusetts as well as one of the principal ports on the East Coast. Most cargo handling facilities are in the Boston neighborhoods of Charlestown, East Boston, South Boston and in the neighboring city of Everett.

39. Paulsboro, NJ

Total tons: 16,121,201

The Paulsboro Marine Terminal, the first major port to be constructed on the Delaware River in more than 50 years, has processed more than 4 million tons of imported steel slabs since it opened in 2017. The second phase of construction is scheduled for completion in 2021. At full build-out, the new facility will feature three berths on the river and a barge berth on Mantua Creek.

40. Kalama, WA

Total tons: 15,796,458

Sitting on the Columbia River in Southwest Washington, immediately off of Interstate 5, the port is just 30 miles northwest of Portland and 120 miles south of Seattle. Kalama’s industrial area includes five miles of riverfront property adjacent to the river’s 43-foot, federally maintained deep-draft navigation channel.

41. Honolulu, HI

Total tons: 15,181,890

The gateway to Hawaii is less than 2 miles from the major steamship lines and carriers. The 3-acre Honolulu Freight Service terminal services all domestic and international inbound cargo, utilizing a 60,000-square-foot facility with 14 dock high doors, ramp access and conveniently located on North Nimitz Highway.

42. Detroit, MI

Total tons: 14,837,762

Located along the west side of the Detroit River, Michigan’s largest seaport consists of multiple marine terminals handling general, liquid, and bulk cargo as well as passengers. The Port of Detroit’s single most valuable commodity is steel, and the largest commodity handled by tonnage is ore. Other important commodities handled at the port include stone, coal, and cement.

43. Longview, WA

Total tons: 13,738,906

Operating since 1921, the port has eight marine terminals and waterfront industrial property spanning 835 acres on the deep-draft Columbia River, 66 miles from the Pacific Ocean in southwest Washington state.

44. Marcus Hook, PA

Total tons: 12,205,883

The Delaware Bay seaport has an anchorage depth of 11 to 12.2 meters, a cargo pier depth of 9.4 to 10 meters, and an oil terminal depth of 11 to 12.2 meters.

45. Indiana Harbor, IN

Total tons: 11,910,541

July 17, 2020, marked the 50th anniversary of the grand opening of the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor, the beginning of an organization that connects America’s heartland to the world and provides a stimulus to the state’s economy.

46. Cleveland, OH

Total tons: 11,778,910

One of the largest ports on the Great Lakes, the port is responsible for more than 20,000 jobs and $3.5 billion in annual economic activity. The Port of Cleveland is the only local government agency whose sole mission is to spur job creation and economic vitality in Cuyahoga County.

47. San Juan, PR

Total tons: 11,737,059

The port’s cargo facilities are located on the southern portion of San Juan Bay. At least eight cargo terminals–five in the Puerto Nuevo district and the rest in neighboring Guaynabo—have immediate access to Puerto Rico’s vast expressway system and several major local routes.

48. Memphis, TN

Total tons: 11,055,740

The “International” Port of Memphis the second-largest inland port on the shallow draft portion of the Mississippi River, and the fifth largest inland port in the nation.

49. Anacortes, WA

Total tons: 11,038,886

One of only eight deepwater ports in Washington state, Anacortes can accommodate Panamax vessels with additional dredging. The port—which was ranked 49th among U.S. ports and fifth among Washington ports in total trade by cargo tonnage during 2016—is known for its diverse, highly skilled maritime sector workforce.

50. Vancouver, WA

Total tons: 10,527,470

One of the major ports on the Pacific Coast, Vancouver (of Washington, not British Columbia) boasts as competitive strengths available land, versatile cargo handling capabilities, vast transportation networks, a skilled labor force and an exceptional level of service to its customers and community.

Archives, Features, Global Trade Daily, Stories

LEADERS BY EXAMPLE: 10 INDUSTRY EXECUTIVES USHERING IN THE GREEN REVOLUTION

March 30th, 2020 Matt Coker Leave a comment

A Nielsen survey found that 81 percent of global consumers feel companies should help improve the environment. “Business strategies must include sustainability in their core beliefs and practices,” says Hitendra Chaturvedi, a professor at the Supply Chain Department of W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University and an expert on global supply chain sustainability and strategy.

Fortunately, there are forward-looking leaders like the executives who follow that prove you can go green and succeed in business.

Simon Paris – CEO, Finastra; Chairman, World Trade Board

As the chief executive of one of the world’s largest fintech companies, while also chairing the World Trade Board, Simon Paris is in a unique position to talk about protecting the global trade system. Heading into the 2020 World Trade Symposium in his company’s hometown of London, Paris wrote about countering today’s protectionist narrative with “our reinforcement of the pro-trade narrative,” and he also called for ideas to reduce the small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SME) funding gap, currently estimated at $1.5 trillion. But he ended with a plea to “examine how open technology can act as the enabler for inclusive, sustainable trade.

As global supply chains become increasingly complex, our goal should not be measured on a binary figure of turnover or profit, but on the ethical and sustainable impact of our technological innovation; our technological social responsibility. How can we use technology, collectively, to ascertain the provenance of materials, improve the health and wellbeing of workers in remote locations, reduce the cause and effects on environment pollution of long-distance transportation or minimize the impact of waste and disposal? How can we use open finance technologies–and by this, I include open systems, open software, open APIs, open standards and open partner networks–to transform supply chains and encourage the formulation of more relevant and inclusive trade models, in support of ethical trade?”

Detlef Trefzger – CEO, Kuehne + Nagel International AG

This year, all less-than-container-load (LCL) shipments by Kuehne + Nagel began being CO2 neutral, which is part of the Swiss global logistics and transportation company’s goal of being totally CO2 neutral by 2030. “As one of the leading logistics companies worldwide, we acknowledge the responsibility we have for the environment, for our ecosystem and essentially for the people,” explains K+N CEO Detlef Trefzger, who along with his company supports the aim of the Paris agreement on climate. To that end, the company has also begun carbon-swapping nature projects in Myanmar, New Zealand and elsewhere.

Ongoing training programs maintain and expand the environmental awareness of employees, who have increasingly relied on video conferencing over business trips. In December, K+N announced its accession to the Development and Climate Alliance, which was launched in 2018 to simultaneously promote the development and environmental protection. “As a globally operating company, we are convinced that the private sector must also make its contribution to environmental protection,” says Otto Schacht, a member of K+N’s management board responsible for Seafreight.

Uwe Brinks – CEO, DHL Freight

DHL is a leader in piloting alternative drivetrains and fuels for its vehicles, which fits into the San Francisco-born, Germany-based global logistics giant’s target to reduce all its transportation emissions to zero by 2050. “Our sustainability goal is not just a vision, but a clear statement,” says Uwe Brinks, CEO of DHL Freight. “In the future, we will give preference to transportation solutions that contribute to achieving our environmental goals.”

To that end, DHL launched “Terminal for the Future,” which tests and implements solutions and technologies such as automated volume measurement, intelligent yard management, and partially autonomous transfer vehicles. “All these developments are based on a clear approach: We want to make life easier and more efficient for our customers and employees,” Brinks says. “Technology should support our employees in their everyday work, not replace them.” Globally, DHL has changed vehicles in certain delivery fleets to use alternative fuels, including electricity and compressed natural gas, to meet the goals of its GoGreen project to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and local air pollutants by 2025.

David Abney – CEO, UPS

As leader of one of the largest logistics companies in the world, UPS CEO David Abney sums up sustainability success best when he says: “The greenest mile we ever drive is the one we don’t drive.” Better route-planning software and developments have been key to the UPS green transport system—as well as its bottom line: The company claims to have saved $400 million since overhauling the routing system.

But UPS has not stopped there, having switched out dozens of diesel trucks, which get about 10 miles per gallon, for electric vehicles that can squeeze out the equivalent of 52 MPG. Abney and UPS recognize they are an important part of the global supply chain and that their customers expect solutions that help reduce emissions. To that end, UPS has dedicated itself to building the smart logistics network of the future.

Ben McLean- CEO, Ruan

When Des Moines, Iowa-based Ruan was announced in October as a 2019 SmartWay Excellence Award recipient from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, CEO Ben McLean would have been forgiven if he’d reacted by saying, “Meh.” After all, this is the fourth time the green 3PL provider has received the EPA’s highest recognition for demonstrated leadership in freight, supply chain, energy and environmental performance. Of course, McLean—like everyone else at Ruan—was honored to again receive the honor. “This distinction from the EPA validates all the efforts and investments we have made to ensure we are operating as sustainably and environmentally friendly as possible,” said James Cade, vice president, Fleet Services. “To us, sustainability is more than a business practice—it’s our moral commitment. We live in the communities we serve, and it is our responsibility to provide leadership toward a cleaner future.”

Recognition is understandable given that Ruan is one of only three for-hire transportation companies selected for the National Clean Fleets Partnership membership and participation in its annual Clean Cities study. The company’s fleet has green specifications including auxiliary power units that reduce engine idle time, efficient progressive shifting, auto-inflation trailer tire systems, and onboard recorders that monitor MPG, over-RPM, idle time, hard breaking and over-speed driving. Ruan also utilizes alternative fuel types including biodiesel, compressed natural gas, renewable natural gas and renewable hydrocarbon diesel. McLean, part of the third generation of the Ruan family, was out in front of his office to check out a prototype electric truck from Tesla, which has five orders from the company.

Simon Cox – Head of Sustainability, Prologis

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January, San Francisco-based global logistics real estate firm Prologis was revealed to be No. 6 in the U.S. and No. 26 overall on the 2020 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World List. Those that make the list represent the top 1 percent in the world on sustainability performance, according to the Global 100 administrator, Toronto-based Corporate Knights. Prologis leases modern logistics facilities to about 5,100 customers principally across two major categories: business-to-business and retail/online fulfillment. It was among 7,395 companies worldwide that Corporate Knights analyzed.

“Sustainability has moved beyond simply a commercial advantage; it is now essential—business-critical,” Simon Cox, Prologis’ head of Sustainability, recently told Eye for Transport (EFT) by Reuters Events. “… We build warehouses that are ready for the next generation, who want to work for companies that do the right thing. Globally, we are seeing a move towards purpose-based products. It’s no longer enough to simply make something that cleans the kitchen, for example, it’s got to have a broader purpose. It’s got to be environmentally responsible. It’s the same for us as a business that develops and owns sustainable buildings.”

JJ Ruest – President and CEO, CN (Canadian National Railway)

Landing a spot for the first time on the 2020 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World List is CN, at No. 54. That recognition comes exactly 12 months after the Canadian National Railway marked its 10th straight year as a global leader on corporate climate action on the CDP Climate Change A list. Produced at the request of 650 investors with assets of over $87 trillion and/or 115 major purchasing organizations with $3.3 trillion in purchasing power, the A list is culled from thousands of companies that submit annual climate disclosures for independent assessments from CDP, an international nonprofit that seeks public and private sector reductions in greenhouse gas emissions as well as the safeguarding of forests and water resources.

CN transports more than $250 billion (Canadian) worth of goods annually for a wide range of business sectors, ranging from resource products to manufactured products to consumer goods, across a rail network of approximately 20,000 route-miles spanning Canada and U.S. cities such as New Orleans, and Mobile, Alabama as well as the Chicago, Memphis, Detroit, Duluth, Minnesota/Superior, Wisconsin and Jackson, Mississippi metropolitan areas. “Our commitment is to help our customers deliver responsibly by providing a safe, efficient and environmentally friendly way to move goods,” says CN President and CEO JJ Ruest. “To that effect, we have improved our fuel efficiency by 39 percent over the past 25 years.”

Kai Nowosel – Chief Procurement Officer, Accenture

Also landing on the 2020 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World List (at No. 20, up from No. 93 the year before), as well as making the CDP Climate Change A list is Accenture PLC, an Irish multinational that provides strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations services. From offices around the world—including 10 U.S. cities from Boston in the east to Irvine, California, in the west, and Seattle in the north to Houston in the south—Accenture uses “purchasing power to drive positive change on a global scale, creating more sustainable supply chains,” according to Chief Procurement Officer Kai Nowosel. “It also allows us to advance our key priorities, including environmental action, respect for human rights, inclusion, diversity and social innovation.”

Accenture has committed to using 100 percent renewable energy across its global portfolio by 2023. “We will be encouraging similar ambition from our value chain, and ideally reporting progress through established platforms such as CDP supply chain,” Nowosel says. “… We will actively seek partnerships and suppliers that are even more closely aligned to our corporate values so that, together, we will improve the way the world works and lives.”

Alexander Saverys – CEO, CMB (Compagnie Maritime Belge)

CMB’s bold CO2 pledge is “Net Zero as from 2020–ZERO in 2050.” The strategy involves having all carbon emissions from CMB operations completely offset (or net-zero) from this year, while the investment in new technologies will create a completely zero-carbon fleet by 2050. CMB started by supporting certified climate projects in developing countries and acquiring high-quality Voluntary Carbon Units (VCUs) in Zambia, Guatemala, and India. Back at CMB’s home base, the Port of Antwerp in Belgium, the company’s “Hydroville,” the world’s first sea-faring vessel to burn hydrogen in a diesel engine, shuttles up to 16 passengers while producing zero pollution. That won the company the second-ever Sustainability Award from Antwerp Port Authority, Alfaport-Voka and the Scheldt Left Bank Corp. in November 2018.

CMB is now hard at work on “HydroTug,” a tugboat that will hit the water later this year or next using the same hybrid hydrogen/diesel technology as Hydroville. Hybrid barges would soon follow, and the company hopes to launch the world’s first hydrogen-powered container ships in the next decade. “Green hydrogen-based fuels are the only zero-emission solution in the long run,” according to CMB CEO Alexander Saverys. “… We are convinced of the potential of hydrogen as the key to sustainable shipping and making the energy transition of a reality.”

Thibaut de Lataillade – Global Vice President and General Manager, GetApp

Founded in 2010, the Barcelona, Spain-based Gartner company GetApp is an online resource for software buyers to compare products side-by-side with free interactive tools, detailed product data and user reviews. GetApp also serves as an online lead generation channel for SaaS. And the company also provides customers with sustainability advice. “Our main focus is on helping businesses become more efficient through technology and software,” says Thibaut de Lataillade, GetApp’s global vice president and general manager. “As consumers become more conscious of sustainability, businesses must adapt their supply chain processes. This means mapping their supply chain, setting goals and measuring supplier performance when it comes to sustainability. Using the right software to analyze and leverage data captured through this process will help business leaders make the right decisions and ensure sustainability in the future.”

GetApp doesn’t stop there. “We’ve also tried to highlight the many other benefits that come from becoming a socially responsible business. For instance, corporate social responsibility (CSR) can also lead to improved brand awareness and improved customer trust, loyalty and engagement,” de Lataillade says. “As a digital business, we have a duty to spread the message when it comes to creating a social impact strategy, and doing so for the right reasons.”

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THE EAGLERAIL HAS LANDED: CEO MIKE WYCHOCKI PUSHES A “NO BRAINER” WHEN IT COMES TO MOVING SHIPPING CONTAINERS AT CONGESTED PORTS

March 30th, 2020 Matt Coker Leave a comment

It’s amazing where new logistics solutions come from. They are usually born by veteran shippers with visions on how to improve an existing operation. Or it can be a customer or customers seeking help in conquering a specific challenge that eventually resonates throughout the industry.

Then there is the inception of Chicago-based EagleRail Container Logistics’ signature solution. It can be traced to a pitch meeting for a new monorail in Brazil that was attended by a port authority official who was there more as a cheerleader than a participant.

Watching a Chicago marketing man’s PowerPoint presentation about his company’s passenger monorail system to local leaders in São Paulo eight years ago, the port representative, Jose Newton Gama, marveled at how the magnetic levitation (Maglev) trains holding people would be suspended under overhead tracks.

Then the Brazilian known by friends as Newton raised his hand.

“Excuse me?” he asked the Americano. “Could your system be adapted to hold shipping containers?”

That had never occurred to project designers, whose monorail cars for passengers are much lighter than would be required for cargo containers hauled by ships, trucks and freight trains. But the marketing man shared Gama’s question with his colleagues in the Windy City, and that planted the seed that eventually bore EagleRail Container Logistics.

Chief Executive Officer Mike Wychocki was an early investor who eventually bought out that marketing man, but the first EagleRail system is named “Newton” after the Brazilian who now sits on the company’s board of advisors. “He’s a great guy,” says Wychocki during a recent phone interview. “Newton is our biggest cheerleader.”

Wychocki’s no slouch with the pom-poms himself, having pitched EagleRail at 40 ports in 20 countries over the past five years. His company, which has offices around the world, is developing its first prototype in China, and studies are underway at six ports as EagleRail sets about raising $20 million in capital. (The window for small investments had just closed when Wychocki was interviewed. His company has since shifted its focus to large investors.)

The way ports have operated for decades left no need for a system like EagleRail’s. Big ships dock, cranes remove containers stacked on their decks and each box is then moved onto the back of a flatbed truck that either hauls it to a distribution center or an intermodal yard. Until recent years, no one really thought of disrupting the process because, as Wychocki puts it, “you could always find cheaper truck drivers.”

However, truck driver shortages, port-area air pollution and congestion caused by the time it takes to load and unload ever-larger ships have prompted serious soul searching when it comes to short hauls. Expanding the size of ports is often not an option due to the cities that have grown to surround them. This has led to the creation of large container parks for trucks and/or freight trains within a few miles of ports, but getting boxes to those remains problematic—at a time when megaships are only making matters more difficult.

“There is an old saying that ports are where old trucks go to die,” says Wychocki, who ticks off as problems associated with that mode of moving containers pollution, maintenance and fuel costs, as well as the issues of public safety because some drivers essentially live inside of their vehicles, which can attract prostitution and leave behind litter and human waste. Adding even more of these dirty trucks would necessitate more road building, which only adds to environmental concerns.

With ground space at ports a constantly shrinking commodity, tunneling underground may be viewed as an option. But Wychocki points out that many ports have emerged on unstable ground like backfill, and water, power and sewer lines are usually below what’s under the streets beyond port gates. The idea of a hyperloop has been bandied about, but it would require emptying shipping containers at the port, loading the contents into smaller boxes, sending those through to another yard, and then repacking the shipping containers on the other side. “That defeats the whole point” of relieving port congestion, the EagleRail CEO says.

Ah, but every port has unused air space, which is what Wychocki’s company seeks to exploit. “If an Amazon warehouse can lift and shuttle packages robotically,” he says, “why not do the same with a 60,000-pound package? Go to a warehouse. See how Amazon works with packages. They use overhead light rails. It’s an obvious idea, so obvious. It’s a no brainer when you think about it.”

Yes, Amazon also uses drones, but can you imagine the size it would have to be to carry a 60,000-pound shipping container? Wychocki sees a suspended container track as an extension of the cranes on every loading dock worldwide, which is why EagleRail systems are also all-electric and composed of the same crane hardware to avoid snags when it comes to replacing parts.

However, Wychocki is quick to note EagleRail is not a total solution when it comes to port congestion. He calculates that among the short-haul trucks leaving a port, 50 percent are going to 500 different locations, many of which are different states away, while the other half is bound for just a couple nearby destinations. EagleRail is geared toward the latter, and the problem with getting containers to them “is not technological; it’s who controls the five kilometers between the port and the intermodal facility,” he says.

Lifting equipment at ports “is exactly the same in all 200 countries,” he adds. “The part that is not the same is the back end. What is the port’s configuration? Where do the roads come in? What we do is form a consortium and build it with each local player, such as the port authority, the road authority, the national rail company, the power company. Getting everyone involved helps get procurement and environmental rights of way.”

He concedes that getting everyone on board “varies by location,” but when it comes to environmental concerns “everyone’s kind of wanting to do this because it means fewer trucks, and the power companies would prefer the use of electricity (over burning diesel). It sounds harder than it is to get everyone rowing in the same direction.”

Wychocki points to another bonus with EagleRail: It allows for total control of one’s intermodal yard because containers come and go on the same circular route—all day long. “We take this on as a disruptive business model,” he says, noting that short-haul trucks generally involve the use of data-chain-breaking clipboards and mobile phones. EagleRail systems track containers on them in real-time, rolling in all customs paperwork and billing invoices automatically.

“It’s amazing, I just came from the Port of Rotterdam, where I was a keynote,” Wychocki says. “Even the biggest ports in the world like Antwerp were saying, ‘This is great. Why isn’t anyone else doing it?’”

Actually, EagleRail accidentally created direct competition. Wychocki explains that during the initial design phase, his company worked with a foreign monorail concern whose cars used what were essentially aircraft tires rolling inside a closed channel. Concerns about maintaining a system that would invariably involve frequently changing tires—and thus slowing down operations—caused EagleRail to reject that design in favor of another third-party’s calling for steel-on-steel wheels. The designer with tires is pressing on with its own system and without EagleRail.

“I’m glad we didn’t go that route,” says Wychocki, who nonetheless expects more serious competition once EagleRail systems are up and running. Fortunately for the company, there are plenty of ports bursting at the seams that cannot wait that long. Wychocki says a question he invariably gets after pitching EagleRail is: “Where were you 10 years ago? Usually, there is an urgency.”

That’s why “our goal was to get out of the gate fast, build market share and our brand and create a quasi-franchise network,” says Wychocki, whose business model has EagleRail owning 25 percent of a system while the port and other local entities own the rest.

He estimates that within 10 years, 12 EagleRail systems will be operating. If that sounds like a pipe dream, consider that his company’s newsletter boasts 3,000 subscribers before a system is even up and running. Wychocki does not credit “brilliant marketing” for that keen interest. “It’s because every port’s problems are getting worse. Everyone is squealing about what to do with these giant ships that cannot be unloaded fast enough. They are desperate.”

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SUPER MARIO: CORDERO HELPED SHAPE PORT OF LONG BEACH’S PIONEERING GREEN PORT POLICY YEARS BEFORE HE BECAME EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

March 27th, 2020 Matt Coker Leave a comment

Mario Cordero was an attorney in Long Beach, defending industries and municipalities in workers’ compensation cases when he went to lunch with a local elected official. This was in the early 2000s when environmental issues were hot topics in a city that, by population, ranks second in Los Angeles County, seventh in California and 39th in the nation.

“He asked me if I’d be interested in being appointed to the harbor commission,” recalls Cordero of his lunch partner, who was referring to the City of Long Beach’s port authority. “I said of course I would. When you are talking about the port authority, that’s the pinnacle of civic involvement.”

But Cordero could not help but wonder … why him?

“At the time, port authority appointees had backgrounds either politically or as a developer or financier or someone in that circle, or as a community or environmental advocate who is a strong fundraiser,” he says. “I didn’t come under any of those classifications. So I asked, ‘Would the mayor consider me when I don’t have the history of those people who have been propelled to the port authority before?’ He said the mayor was looking for a different mindset, someone who was more sensitive to the concerns of the community and the environmental agenda.”

Cordero accepted the appointment and was sworn onto the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners in July 2003, going on to serve as vice president and president during his eight-year stint. The Los Angeles native is now beginning what will this year be his 17th year as a maritime leader, not only locally and nationally but internationally, as he resigned from the harbor commission in 2011 to join the Federal Maritime Commission, the U.S. government agency responsible for regulating the nation’s international ocean transportation for the benefit of exporters, importers and the American consumer and fostering a fair, efficient and reliable international ocean transportation system, while protecting the public from unfair and deceptive practices.

Cordero, who became executive director of the Port of Long Beach in May 2017, now leads a Harbor Department staff of more than 500 and oversees a budget that was $982 million for the 2019 fiscal year.

The crowning jewel of his career (so far) is arguably the nationally recognized, globally influential Green Port Policy, which outlines a sustainable ethic for all port operations, mandating that trade growth run parallel with environmental stewardship. Cordero began working on the initiative in late 2004, while still on the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners. “We rolled it out,” he says, “and the rest is history.”

Cordero, who was appointed vice-chairman of the Board for the American Association of Port Authorities in October 2018, outlined his port’s strong 2019—despite a dip in exports due to the U.S.-China trade war—and the progress of sustainability efforts during his Jan. 23 State of the Port address at the Long Beach Convention Center. Last year, the Port of Long Beach moved 8.1 million shipping containers or its highest total ever. An $870 million project in the pipeline to improve the port’s rail yard will have more containers hauled by trains instead of trucks, he noted. “Rail is a big part of our green future,” Cordero told the audience. “For the American exporter, my message to you is this: Our rail will move your cargo faster and more efficiently, and we are on track to make it even better for you in the years ahead.”

He also highlighted the Clean Air Action Plan that the ports of Long Beach and neighboring Los Angeles, which together form the largest port complex in the nation, implemented in 2017. The goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050. “We all know climate change is a major global effort, and a global threat,” Cordero told the crowd. “We need to transition to sustainable low-carbon, and the Port of Long Beach will do its part. Our challenge is not just to reduce carbon emissions. It’s to eliminate them altogether. … Yes, we face great challenges, but this port of the future is meeting that challenge. With our many projects, we’re planting seeds so this region continues to thrive.”

Over the phone a week after his State of the Port address, Cordero credited his time on the Harbor Commission with helping to bring about his port’s revolutionary change. “That was the game-changer with me to be part of the port authority,” he says. “I started during a time when there was a real contentious relationship with environmental groups and neighborhood groups who questioned the impacts of having such a great port. Their primary concerns were the harmful emissions that came from those operations and congestion on the highways, streets and so forth. As a result, then-mayor Beverly O’Neill appointed me to the Harbor Commission, and one of my mandates was to bring different thinking to the commission, one that is more sensitive to the concerns of the neighborhood and communities, especially when it came to the environmental issues coming before us.”

Cordero helped usher in the Green Port Policy that the port formalized in January 2005, sealing his reputation as a leader who can bring together different stakeholders or constituencies when it came to economic and environmental sustainability. “Our motto was Grow Green,” he notes. “Back then, in 2004-’05, a lot of naysayers in the industry felt that if you try to do both, it will negatively impact business operations. Looking back, that of course, as I thought then, was not to be the case.” The League of California Cities bestowed Cordero an environmental award in 2007 (the same year the Mexican-American Bar Association named him Attorney of the Year). And still, after two decades of operating under the Green Port Policy, the Port of Long Beach ranks second in the U.S. when it comes to container moves. (The Port of Los Angeles is No. 1.) “It’s not only Grow Green, but we are also a growth leader,” Cordero says. “We eventually laid out a model for ports around the world.”

Some of those ports in the U.S. would not mind cutting into Long Beach’s trade action. “We recognize that we have to have a competitive edge in terms of competing with other gateways in the U.S. lobbying for a piece of the Asian-Transpacific cargo moves,” concedes Cordero, who during his early days in the industry became “intrigued” by “the whole issue of commerce and international trade.” He plunged into examining globalization, especially as it related to economic partnerships with Asian countries. His self-education, coupled with the port’s economic and environmental successes, led to President Barack Obama appointing Cordero to the Federal Maritime Commission, which he chaired from April 2013 to January 2017.

The FMC experience “gave me context into the high levels of Washington, D.C.,” he says. “That leadership really put the Port of Long Beach on the national front. I am very proud of that history.” It was forged by Cordero’s ability to get local residents, environmentalists, union workers, terminal operators, cargo owners, international shipping companies, transportation entities and government regulators to all buy in to the port’s vision when it came to what had previously been viewed as polar opposites: trade growth and environmental sustainability. “We had to educate the community about the importance of international trade, not only as a job producer, but every household is a beneficiary of international trade,” Cordero says. “And number two, the Port of Long Beach was serious about exploring ways we can further sustainable development.”

He points with pride to “a tremendous monetary investment” the port has made to mitigate air and water pollution. “We moved forward to introduce and put in place shore power, which is also known as cold ironing,” he says. “An investment in excess of $180 million resulted in international vessels coming to port and hooking up to the electrical infrastructure as opposed to burning bunker fuel, or what they call hoteling. The way it [previously] looked at the port was that the vessels were emitting black smoke while they were here. Not much more changed dynamically until, on the international front and the state level, the implementation of standards requiring environmentally friendly fuels and the getting away from the common use of bunker fuel, which was the worst kind to use as far as the diesel infrastructure.”

Cordero is pleased with where the port is in terms of achieving the goals of the Green Port Policy. Referring to the marketing spin that makes a supposedly green entity sound more focused on sustainability than it really is, Cordero conceded, “Many thought in the environmental community, and I don’t blame them, that we were just greenwashing here. Obviously, we did more than greenwashing. … Mitigating harmful emissions—we’ve done that. In 10 years we have reduced particulate matter 88 percent, noxious emissions 57 percent, and we’ve reduced sock emissions at a level of 97 percent. Those are astounding numbers in terms of what we did.”

In the same breath, he acknowledges the port must do more as it tries to meet the bold goals of zero emissions in cargo handling by 2030 and zero emissions from trucks by 2035. “There are 18,300 trucks registered at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. There can be anywhere from 14 to 16 truck moves a day. Our goal is to not be satisfied in reducing emissions and diesel emissions until we get to zero, so by 2035 trucks will be running on electric batteries or fuel-cell technology.”

That is why Cordero is not ready to pop the cork on the bubbly just yet. “I am satisfied at this point in terms of what this port and this city have been able to do, but ultimately we must meet our current quest of going zero emissions,” he says. “That is something we will celebrate in the future.”

It’s all pretty heady stuff when you consider Cordero “was not even thinking about being on the Harbor Commission until I had that lunch. … I love to speak to students assessing what careers they are looking at. Number one, I tell them to give 110 percent at the job they are doing. Second, I say you never know what door is going to open.”

3pls, Archives, Global Trade Daily, Trucking

NTG Slides Between Old Guard and Freight-Forwarding Disruptors

February 3rd, 2020 Matt Coker Leave a comment

If there is one common theme among newish freight-forwarding disruptors, it is that they seek to replace an old guard that relies on paper, clipboards, and telephones with a brave new world that relies on cloud software, analytics platforms, and smartphones.

The stakes are high: tracking and handling freight is a $1 trillion industry. And so, the business media falls all over itself to profile the likes of Qwyk, Flexport and Zencargo. It’s a small wonder that established players have moved into the freight forwarding “startup” space, as evidenced by Twill, a so-called “Maersk innovation.” Amazon is also breaking into the freight-forwarding market, as is another well-known disruptor, Uber, which launched Uber Freight in 2017 and expanded into Europe last year.

Falling somewhere between the newbies and the established players is Nolan Transportation Group (NTG), a multimodal freight brokerage firm that was founded in Atlanta in 2005. Featuring parcel, truckload, less-than-truckload and intermodal transportation services for more than 7,000 customers across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico—as well as a carrier base with over 30,000 independent transportation/trucking companies that aid in facilitating the movement of clients’ products—NTG has mostly been in the news lately due to industry consolidation.

After Gryphon Investors injected capital into third party logistics company Transportation Insight in September, the private equity firm and the 3PL together acquired NTG three months later. Then, in January, NTG announced it had acquired Eagle Transportation LLC, a Mississippi-based freight brokerage specializing in temperature-controlled shipping. Out of the deal, NTG added Eagle’s expertise in cold-chain logistics and brokerage of refrigerated equipment, and Eagle received access to NTG’s vast pool of carrier representatives.

But NTG Freight is now seeking to turn industry heads with its new portal for carriers and shipping customers that went live for the public on Jan. 18, after months of beta testing. Those who log in 24/7 get real-time access “to every available shipment we have as a company,” says Garrett McDaniel, NTG’s vice president of Software Project Management. “Carriers like it because available loads are not on public boards where you have to beat out the competition to find lanes you are interested in running. The second a shipment is created, it shows up on our system as available.”

Previously, NTG communicated with its more than 8,000 companies and 100,000 trucking companies via fax, email, and phone. The portal makes that process communications and booking loads faster and easier, with bidding and rate confirmation handled automatically—and via a smartphone.

“We have created a few access levels for our preferred carriers, who not only see the loads available but the offer rate for that load as well,” McDaniel explains. “It’s created a bidding system that is pretty different than the eBay-style bidding that our competitors are doing.” With the latter, a bid amount is entered and after other bids are made, a “winning bid” is selected. But with the NTG portal, a carrier submits a couple of different amounts and is automatically chosen without having to debate.

Asked whether the new portal came about based on what customers were seeking or what NTG saw needed refinement, McDaniel answered, “A little bit of both. The platform was originally created based on some specific needs of carriers.”

You might assume here that NTG’s answer to those needs came in June 2019, when the 3PL deployed Descartes Systems Group’s MacroPoint, a cloud-based freight visibility solution. After all, Perry Falk, senior vice president of NTG’s Carrier Operations, said at the time: “Our customers can opt to get real-time visibility on every shipment we move. The drivers for our carriers can provide location updates with minimal interactions while in-transit, leaving us with happier carriers who can focus on driving safely.”

However, McDaniel corrects that the new portal’s inception actually stretches back a couple of years before that, when carriers were telling NTG as far back as 2017 that they needed online access to their payment information. “One thing they wanted was access to payments in real-time. Paperwork was missing on some loads, and they wanted to see information on available loads. Over time, as we grew as a development team, along with the experience of the users, things were refined internally.

“One of the very first versions that rolled out showed the payment status. You’d log in to see when you were being paid if you were paid already what the check number was and when it was mailed. Really within the last year, we rolled out a lot more core functionality, including bidding on loads, rate confirmation, as well as some of the customer-focused functionality as well.”

McDaniel considers all of this to be part of NTG’s mission “to improve the carrier partnership.” Relationships with loyal carriers and customers were already in place during the NTG portal’s beta phase. “We’ve received a ton of positive feedback, especially among the smaller carriers that have one to five trucks,” McDaniel says. “It’s been a great tool for them to be able to keep their trucks completely filled with loads purely by using the system.” Carriers “with thousands of trucks” also participated in the beta phase, he adds. “They were able to get in, play around with it and give us their feedback. We’ve taken a lot of the feedback and been able to implement changes.”

The live version features a redesigned front end, more user-friendliness and a more modern-feeling than the beta tester, according to McDaniel, who credits Gryphon Investors with steadfastly supporting his company’s high-tech vision. “They have been a really incredible partner in developing this application,” he says.

However, while new freight forwarding disruptors scramble to build new customer bases, McDaniel is also quick to applaud the NTG network with continuing to push his company to refine with the digital times.

“We have been around for 15 years,” he notes. “In that amount of time, we’ve grown a deep network of carriers and shipper partners. These were not acquired overnight as a tech startup disruptor.”

Which, McDaniel believes, gives NTG a competitive edge over the upstarts. “We have a pretty dedicated group of users. This is something we view as an enhancement for our carrier partners. You don’t ever want to replace human relationships. Rather, this is something that quite frankly helps strengthen that relationship with us.”

Archives, Global Trade Daily, Ocean Ports, Stories, U.S. Ports

U.S.-China Trade War of 2019 Spills into 2020 for Ports, Shippers and Manufacturers

January 23rd, 2020 Matt Coker Leave a comment

The Jan. 15 signing of a U.S.-China Phase One agreement did spawn a sigh of relief among those troubled by the trade tensions between the two nations. But six days later, a warning came from a couple experts closely watching the unfolding events on behalf of ports, shipping lines and manufacturers. The crux of that warning? Stay tuned.

“This is a truce,” said Phil Levy, chief economist at Flexport, a San Francisco-based freight forwarding and custom brokerage company. “This is not the end of the trade war.”

Levy shared that opinion as he joined his company’s CEO Ryan Peterson in leading a webinar on Jan. 21 that was listened in on electronically by some of their 10,000 clients in more than 200 countries. Those who rely on the company’s expertise in ocean, air, truck and rail freight, drayage & cartage, warehousing, customs brokerage, financing and insurance–all informed and powered by Flexport’s unique software platform—heard Levy say of the U.S.-China trade war: “We haven’t seen a retaliatory escalation of this magnitude in the post-World War II era. … This really was a 2019 story that worsened throughout the year.”

He pointed to a graphic that showed trade between the world’s two biggest economies fell markedly last year, and that no one overseeing trans-Pacific supply chains were immune from economic harm. Many webinar participants could relate as 64 percent of Flexport’s customers rely on the trans-Pacific trade routes, according to Peterson.

Yes, the Phase One deal was a positive first step, but Levy pointed to some examples of lasting victims from the trade war. It exposed the continued “decay,” as the economist put it, of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which is supposed to prevent the escalation of trade disputes. The “keeper of peace” amid trade tensions was largely frozen out of U.S.-China talks and, therefore, silent as events transpired.

A second heavy blow came in December 2019, when the WTO’s appellate body ceased to function, according to Levy, who noted that the formation of the “WTO system was one of core achievements since World War II.”

Peterson found equally worrisome the first-ever disappearance of peak season when it comes to shipping. As many known, imports grow during the fall and really heat up by November’s holiday shopping season. That not happening in 2019, couple with a steady decline is U.S. imports from China after years of solid growth, is a reason for concern, according to the CEO, who maintained, “global trade is down due to tariffs.”

For one thing, not having a peak season to rely on, coupled with steadily declining trade, “from our perspective makes life very hard to plan for,” Peterson said.

He did see on the horizon what many may view as a green lining: lower freight fees and consumer prices. “Lower prices do sound good,” Peterson conceded, “until someone goes bankrupt. We want stability, predictability. Things getting too cheap is unpredictable. You are playing with fire.”

Feel the burn? Peterson called our current “degree of uncertainty relatively unprecedented. We learn about things in a tweet. Was that really implemented or not?” As an example, he cited France proposing a digital tax and President Donald Trump striking back with threats of tariffs on cheese and wine. “Is that policy or not?” Peterson asked rhetorically. “Right now it’s a tweet. It makes it very hard to plan for.”

Levy warned “there is no safe play.” You can withstand the brunt of the tariffs and see what that does to your bottom line, or you can figure out a way to work around them and then have a trade deal come along with no way to return to normal operations quickly enough.

As Peterson pointed out, it’s not just the sting of the tariffs but the amount of paperwork and other adjustments one must handle while trying to remain agile. That time takes away from other things you need to be doing with your business.

Speaking of time away, Levy believes there will be no further movement in deescalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China until after America’s November presidential election. He suspects that China agreed to the Phase One conditions, which were much more weighted against that country than the U.S., “to buy a year of peace.” He added that China could be playing it coy in the weeks ahead as Beijing awaits the outcome that determines whether they will continue to deal with Trump or a new White House occupant. “If Trump loses, it’s likely the trade agreement will change anyway,” Levy said.

In the meantime … uncertainty. Peterson noted that one Flexport client had to close a manufacturing plant due to the tariffs. Levy held onto the hope that an eventual U.S.-China trade deal will be beneficial economically, pointing to markets that opened up with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement. But you never know, as evidenced by USMCA having also resulted in some restricted trade, particularly in the automobile sector. “That was disappointing,” he admitted.

Don’t be surprised if the pain ultimately spreads, as Levy predicted what will happen after the U.S.-China trade war comes to a head. “There are a lot of signs the president will turn his trade policy focus away from China and toward Europe,” said Levy, who later noted Trump has also begun accusing Vietnam of cheating when it comes to trade.

So what to do about all this?

“My stance is there is nothing more important than agility, the ability to adapt,” Peterson said of dealing with tariffs, real or threatened. “It can mean restructuring a supply chain or seeking exemptions.” Companies that foster a culture with an ability to adapt can look at these challenges, Peterson says, and respond: “Bring it on, bring on the change.”

Archives, Departments, Executive Getaways, Global Trade Daily

Anaheim Has Much More to Offer than Just a Magic Kingdom

January 20th, 2020 Matt Coker Leave a comment

The late San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen used to describe Southern California as “the box that Disneyland came in.” That would make Anaheim the box top. Along with Orlando, Florida, Anaheim is the only place in America where it’s a compliment to hear a visitor remark, “Well, that was a real Mickey Mouse place to stay.”

But there is more to Anaheim than being the granddaddy of Uncle Walt Disney’s theme parks. Indeed, there is even more to Anaheim than its next two most well-known entities: the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League’s Anaheim Ducks.

For instance, did you know the Anaheim Convention Center is the largest exhibit facility on the West Coast? Originally opened in 1967, the convention center spans 53 acres, offers 1.8 million square feet of function space and also includes an on-site Hilton Hotel with display and meeting spaces of its own. Located directly across the street from the Anaheim Resort District’s second theme park, Disney’s California Adventure, the convention center hosts such large events as Citrix Synergy, Disney’s D23 Expo and the Winter National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Show. Don’t let the roster spook you into believing the facility is solely suited for mega-tradeshows as it can also host small meetings and intimate industry gatherings.

Business travelers can choose from a plethora of lodging offerings as there are 111 hotels with 22,183 rooms within two miles of the convention center, including 41 (with 8,749 total rooms) within a half-mile walk of the meeting place. Besides Anaheim, there are hotels, motels and other lodging options in the bordering cities of Buena Park, Garden Grove, Fullerton, Orange and Yorba Linda. Beyond those, there are surrounding Orange County’s famous (and generally pricey) oceanfront resorts in Dana Point, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Newport Coast and Huntington Beach. You might find a celebrity in these … checked in under an assumed name after having ditched the paparazzi an hour-and-change away in Hollywood.

Meanwhile, back in Anaheim, there is plenty to see and do locally. Most visitors do include at least a day at one of Uncle Walt’s parks, but those on a budget, tight on time or opposed to marathon standing sessions in attraction lines can get the Magic Kingdom flavor at the much mellower Downtown Disney shopping/dining/entertainment area that’s just steps from the main gates of Disneyland and California Adventure.

A similar destination on the other side of Harbor Boulevard from the Disney parks is Anaheim GardenWalk, which includes more great shopping and restaurants, as well as the House of Blues, live concert venue. Make sure to also check the entertainment listings for City National Grove, which is a couple of miles east on Katella Avenue from GardenWalk. And if you continue on Katella a bit you’ll hit the Honda Center, which draws arena acts when it’s not filled with conventions, Ducks games or other athletics.

Convention bookers should consider holding at least one gathering in The RANCH Restaurant & Saloon’s private dining and events center. Just two miles from the convention center—and five floors above The RANCH Restaurant (that is also available for buyout)—the exclusive sixth-floor venue offers spectacular views of Anaheim.

An even more unique outing can be had mere steps from Disney’s California Adventure. FlightDeck is the only simulator in the world that has visitors take a quick flight course, get fitted for a jumpsuit and experience mock flying that includes aerial maneuvers at 600 knots as well as air-to-air combat. Curse you, Red Baron!

Set about halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, Anaheim is intersected by the 5 Freeway, which runs from the Mexican border all the way up to the Canadian border in Washington state. There are four major airports just minutes away from Anaheim: John Wayne (Santa Ana) International Airport, Long Beach Airport, Ontario International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Buses and shuttles that pick up steps from those hubs’ terminals feed into the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC), which is across the street from the Honda Center and nearly adjacent to one of Angels Stadium’s gates.

Much farther south, on the other side of the Orange County border, is San Diego County, which is home to the pioneering California craft brewing scene. But Anaheim is no slouch when it comes to suds. The city boasts numerous craft breweries, some of which have won national awards for their elixirs. I recommend an Uber or Lyft crawl that at the very least includes Bottle Logic Brewing Co., Noble Ale Works, Towne Park Brew Co., Bruery Terreux and, nearby in Placentia, The Bruery Tasting Room. As Charles Harris, senior vice president of Marketing with Visit Anaheim, puts it: “You don’t have to be a cicerone to appreciate the perfect pint in Anaheim.”

Another worthy beercation stop is Anaheim Brewery, a revived pre-Prohibition beer garden that is this year celebrates its 150th anniversary. But it’s recommended not only for the milestone and delicious brews (their Anaheim 1888 is a must pour). A small lawn area separates the brewery from Anaheim Packing House, an old citrus packinghouse that has been reimagined as a hip food hall. People watching while nibbling on artisan eats is the real treat.

You can usually pack light because Anaheim is graced with nearly 300 days of sunshine, a miserly 13 inches of annual rainfall (and no snow) as well as an average temperature of 67 degrees. The 42-mile-long Orange County coastline facing the Pacific Ocean is usually just 20 minutes. If traffic is heavy, skip the maddening freeways and take Harbor Boulevard south.

It’s little wonder you must plan ahead when getting around, given that 20 million people reside within a 90-mile radius of Anaheim. Guess it’s not such a small world after all.

Archives, Global Trade Daily, Site Selection, State Spotlight, Top Cities

Our Annual Governor’s Cup Ranks Top 10 Southern States for Site Selection Incentives

January 10th, 2020 Matt Coker Leave a comment

A funny thing happened on the way to compiling Global Trade’s latest Annual Governor’s Cup feature on state site selection incentives: the preponderance of states from the South that offer more attractive benefits than just about anywhere else in the country.

Rather than cast the net wide enough to include non-southern states for the sake of comprehensiveness, we decided to this year focus more strongly on the country’s hottest region. There are 16 states in the American South, and based on data and statistics from the U.S. government and various business, industry and media entities, we have ranked the top 10.

It must be mentioned that differing sources had Tennessee and Georgia as the top state among all 50 when it comes to site selection incentives. We did not flip a coin but instead gave The Volunteer State the ever-so-slight edge based on the quality of incentives offered. Really, you would do well to start up or relocate in either state or, heck, any of the 10 that follow.

1. TENNESSEE

Capital: Nashville

Population: 6.77 million

GDP: $287.77 billion (2-16)

Largest cities: Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga

Targeted industries: Business Services, Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber, Food & Agribusiness, Distribution & Logistics, Aerospace & Defense, Transportation, Healthcare & Medical Devices, Energy Technology, Automotive, Advanced Manufacturing

Site location success story: Amazon opening a major operations and logistics office hub in Nashville that creates 5,000 high paying jobs and pumps $230 million into the local economy.

Key agency: Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development

Key site-selection incentives:

*Fast Track Economic Development Fund, which provides grants to local communities to reimburse companies for eligible expenditures not covered by infrastructure or job training grants, including relocation of equipment, temporary office space, capital improvements and retrofitting.

*Job Tax Credit of $4,500 per job to offset up to 50 percent of franchise and excise taxes (F&E) in any given year with a carry forward for up to 15 years so long as businesses create at least 25 net new full-time positions within a 36 month period and invest at least $500,000 in a qualified business enterprise.

*Enhanced Job Tax Credit, which allows an additional annual credit for locations/expansions in designated Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4 Enhancement Counties and can offset up to 100 percent of F&E liability.

*Industrial Machinery Tax Credit of 1-10 percent for the purchase, third party installation and repair of qualified industrial machinery used in manufacturing, warehousing and distribution and at headquarters and call centers.

*Sales and Use Tax Exemptions at headquarters or for industrial machinery and reduced sales tax rates for utilities at qualified call centers, data centers and warehousing, distribution and manufacturing facilities.

*Research and Development sales tax exemption.

*FastTrack Job Training Assistance Program for new or expanding companies that provide funding to support the training of net new full-time employees.

*Export Assistance that includes networking, training and free planning services and trade and travel assistance.

2. GEORGIA

Capital: Atlanta

Population: 10.52 million (2018)

GDP: $461.1 billion (2016)

Largest cities: Atlanta, Columbus, Augusta, Macon

Targeted industries: Call Centers, Cybersecurity, Financial Technology, Food Processing, Logistics, Automotive, Life Sciences, Aerospace, Information Technology, Manufacturing, Headquarters

Site location success story: Brazil’s Guidoni Group, which is one of the leading producers and exporters of ornamental stones in the world, locating a manufacturing facility in McRae-Helena that creates 455 jobs and invests $96 million. The project is slated to open in 2020’s third quarter.

Key agency: Georgia Department of Economic Development

Key site selection incentives:

*No real or personal property tax, no state property tax on inventory and 5.75 percent corporate income tax.

*Inventory Tax Exemption, where counties and municipalities have the option of enacting a local property tax exemption for four classes of inventory at 20, 40, 60, 80 or 100 percent of the value.

*Investment Tax Credit for companies to upgrade or expand as long as they have operated a manufacturing or telecommunications facility (including corporate office and other support facilities) for at least three years in the state.

*Mega Project Tax Credit, which is available for companies that employ at least 1,800 net new employees, and either invest a minimum of $450 million or have a minimum annual payroll of $150 million.

*Port Tax Credit Bonus rewards new or expanding companies that increase imports or exports through a Georgia deepwater port by at least 10 percent over the previous or base year. It can be used with the Job Tax Credit program or the Investment Tax Credit program.

*Quality Jobs Tax Credit for jobs that pay higher-than-average wages.

*Research & Development Tax Credit for Georgia companies performing qualified research and development in manufacturing, telecommunications, broadcasting,

warehousing & distribution. R&D, processing and tourism.

3. SOUTH CAROLINA

Capital: Columbia

Population: 5 million (2017)

GDP: $183.8 billion (2016)

Largest cities: Charleston, Columbia, North Charleston, Mount Pleasant

Targeted industries: Advanced Materials, Distribution & Logistics, Aerospace, Automotive, Office/Shared Services, Life Sciences, Advanced Manufacturing

Site location success story: AIRSYS Cooling Technologies Inc., global information, communication and technology cooling solution provider, establishing operations in Spartanburg County, where more than $5 million is to be invested and 116 new jobs created.

Key agency: South Carolina Department of Commerce

Key site-selection incentives:

*Economic Development Set-Aside Program that assists companies in locating or expanding in South Carolina by providing financial assistance for road or site improvements and other costs related to business location or expansion.

*Single Factor Sales Apportionment for a company whose primary business in the state is manufacturing, distribution or selling or dealing intangible personal property. The apportionment formula is advantageous for a company whose majority of sales occur outside of South Carolina.

*Corporate Headquarters Credit of 20 percent based on the cost of the actual portion of the facility dedicated to the headquarters operation or direct lease costs for the first five years of operation.

*Credit for Revitalization of Abandoned Buildings, of which at least 66 percent has been closed continuously or otherwise nonoperational for at least five years.

*Fee-in-lieu of Property Taxes may be offered by a county to companies with a total investment of $2.5 million or greater on new buildings and equipment.

*Investment Tax Credit that allows manufacturers a one-time corporate income tax credit for a company’s investment in new production equipment.

*Job Development Credit that can refund a portion of state withholding tax liability for 10-15 years.

*Port Volume Increase Credit for manufacturers, distributors or entities engaged in freight forwarding, freight handling, goods processing, cross-docking, transloading or wholesaling of goods that use state port facilities and increase base port cargo volume by at least 5 percent over base-year totals.

*Research & Development Tax Credit equal to 5 percent of the taxpayer’s qualified research expenses in the state.

4. NORTH CAROLINA

Capital: Raleigh

Population: 10.2 million (2017)

GDP: $538.3 billion (2017)

Largest cities: Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Durham

Targeted industries: Biotech & Pharmaceuticals, Automotive, Aerospace & Defense, Agribusiness & Food Processing, Business & Financial Services, Information & Communication Technology, Truck & Heavy Equipment

Site location success story: Merck, a leading global biopharmaceutical company, investing $57 million to establish a filling and packaging line for the company’s RotaTeq vaccine and create 55 jobs in Wilson.

Key agency: Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina

Key site-selection incentives:

*Job Development Investment Grant that provides cash grants to new and expanding businesses to help offset the cost of locating or expanding in North Carolina.

*One North Carolina Fund that allows the governor to respond quickly to competitive job-creation projects that do also require a local match.

*Building Reuse Programs for renovation and upfitting vacant industrial and commercial buildings.

*Singles Sales Factor Apportionment that determines how much of a corporation’s income is subject to state tax based solely on its revenue from sales located in or sourced to North Carolina.

*Sales and Use Tax Exemptions for specified manufacturing, fulfillment, data centers and more.

5. ALABAMA

Capital: Montgomery

Population: 4.87 million (2017)

GDP: $211 billion (2017)

Largest cities: Birmingham, Montgomery, Huntsville, Mobile

Targeted industries: Aerospace/Defense Manufacturing, Automotive Manufacturing, Chemical Manufacturing, Agricultural Products/Food Production Manufacturing, Steel/Metal Manufacturing, Distribution & Logistics, Information Technology

Site location success story: Airbus’ first single-aisle A220 passenger jet rolling out this year at its second Mobile campus, which opened last year.

Key agency: Economic Development Partnership of Alabama

Key site-selection incentives:

*Alabama Department of Commerce’s Certified Capital Company (CAPCO) Program offers an alternative to conventional bank financing to accommodate a slightly higher risk profile and provide a more flexible structure for growing businesses in the state.

*Industrial Revenue Bonds, which are tax-exempt and issued at rates lower than conventional sources, may be used as long-term financing of up to 100 percent of a project for acquisition of land, buildings, site preparation and improvements; building, furnishing and filling structures; and “soft costs” such as architectural and engineering, interest incurred during construction, cost associated with bond issuance, etc.

*Investment Credit for a qualifying project for up to 10 years and can be taken against the Alabama income tax liability and/or utility tax liability.

*Jobs Credit annual cash rebate up to 3 percent of the previous year’s gross payroll (not including fringe benefits) for eligible employees for up to 10 years. The rebate rises if at least 12 percent of employees are veterans.

6. TEXAS

Capital: Austin

Population: 28.3 million (2017)

GDP: $1.7 trillion (2017)

Largest cities: Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin

Targeted industries: Advanced Technologies & Manufacturing, Energy, Information & Computer Technology, Petroleum Refining & Chemical Products, Biotech & Life Sciences, Aerospace & Defense

Site location success story: United Alloy Inc., a serial production metal fabrication and powder coating company, building its new state-of-the-art, 200,000-square-foot manufacturing facility on a 27-acre site in Seguin, which benefits from at least 100 new jobs and $35 million in total capital investment over a three-year period.

Key agency: The Governor’s Office of Economic Development & Tourism | Gov.texas.gov/business | (512) 936-0100

Key site-selection incentives:

*Capital Access Program financing for small and medium-sized businesses and non-profits which face barriers to accessing capital or fall outside of guidelines of conventional lending.

*Industrial Revenue Bonds that provide tax-exempt financing for land and depreciable property for eligible industrial or manufacturing projects.

*Spaceport Trust Fund financial support for the development of infrastructure necessary or useful for establishing a spaceport in Texas.

*Texas Enterprise Fund awards “deal-closing” cash grants to companies considering a new project for which one Texas site is competing with other out-of-state sites.

*Texas Product Development & Small Business Incubator Fund long-term, asset-backed loans to product development companies and small business incubators/accelerators located in Texas.

*Business Relocation Tax Deduction & Exemption for qualified businesses relocating to Texas.

*Renewable Energy Incentives for any qualifying Texas business that exclusively manufactures, sells or installs wind or solar energy devices.

*State Sales & Use Tax Exemptions for rented, leased or purchased machinery, equipment, replacement parts and accessories that have a useful life of more than one year or 12 months, and that are used or consumed in the manufacturing, processing, fabricating or repairing of tangible personal property for ultimate sale.

*Texas Economic Development Act incentives for large-scale manufacturing, research and development and other large capital investment projects that locate in Texas.

*Texas Enterprise Zone Program state sales and use tax refunds for private investment and job creation in economically distressed areas of the state.

*Texas Research & Development Tax Credit sales tax exemption when buying materials, software and equipment directly used in qualified R&D purposes.

7. KENTUCKY

Capital: Frankfort

Population: 4.45 million (2017)

GDP: $202.5 billion (2017)

Largest cities: Louisville, Lexington-Fayette, Bowling Green, Owensboro

Targeted industries: Automotive Related Engineering & Manufacturing; Aerospace; Advanced Manufacturing; Logistics & Distribution; Food & Beverage; Aluminum & Steel Related Manufacturing; Chemicals, Plastic & Rubber

Site location success story: The first Kentucky operation for Precision Pulley & Idler, a supplier of idlers, pulleys, bearings and other products for the major bulk and material handling components industries. The $10.75 million production facility in Maysville creates more than 100 full-time jobs over the next decade.

Key agency: Kentucky Association for Economic Development

Key site-selection incentives:

*Direct Loan Program loans at below-market interest rates for fixed asset financing for agribusiness, tourism, industrial ventures or the service industry. Retail projects are not eligible.

*Industrial Revenue Bonds to finance manufacturing projects and their warehousing areas, major transportation and communication facilities, most health care facilities, and mineral extraction and processing projects.

*Kentucky Enterprise Fund and Rural Innovation Fund seed-stage capital for companies that are commercializing a technology-based product or process.

*Kentucky New Energy Ventures Fund seed stage capital to support the development and commercialization of alternative fuel and renewable energy products, processes and services.

*Kentucky Small Business Credit Initiative and Small Business Loan Program loans for small businesses engaged in manufacturing, agribusiness or service and technology.

*Angel Investment Tax Credit of up to 50 percent of an investment in Kentucky small businesses; the investor and business much each apply.

*Kentucky Business Investment Program income tax credits and wage assessments to new and existing agribusinesses, regional and national headquarters, manufacturing companies, alternative fuel, gasification, energy-efficient alternative fuels, renewable energy production companies, carbon dioxide transmission pipelines and non-retail service or technology related companies that locate or expand operations in Kentucky.

*Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act tax breaks for new or expanded companies engaged in manufacturing, non-retail service or technology activities, agribusiness, headquarters operations, alternative fuel, gasification, energy-efficient alternative fuels, renewable energy production companies, carbon dioxide transmission pipelines, or tourism attraction project in Kentucky.

*Kentucky Industrial Revitalization Act tax credits for the rehabilitation of manufacturing or coal mining and processing operations that are in imminent danger of permanently closing or that have closed temporarily.

8. VIRGINIA

Capital: Richmond

Population: 8.47 million (2017)

GDP: $508.7 billion (2017)

Largest cities: Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Richmond

Targeted industries: Cyber Security, Software Publishing, Data Centers, Information/Communications Technologies, Corporate Services, Headquarters, Supply Chain Management, Food & Beverage Processing, Advanced Materials, Aerospace, Automotive, Wood Products, Life Sciences, Unmanned Systems

Site location success story: Cascades, a Canadian packaging and tissue products producer, paid $40 million and plans to invest up to $300 million more to replace the Bear Island paper mill that shut down in Hanover County in 2017. The facility that’s planned to reopen in 2021 will employ 140 workers.

Key agency: Virginia Economic Development Partnership

Key site-selection incentives:

*Virginia Economic Development Incentive Grant for those locating significant headquarters, administrative or service sector operations in the state.

*Virginia Investment Performance Grant for companies involved in added capacity, modernization, increased productivity or the creation, development and utilization of advanced technology.

*Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Grant Program for companies that locate new maritime-related employment centers or expand existing centers in the Commonwealth that foster the port’s growth.

*Virginia Small Business Financing Authority programs for small businesses that need access to capital for growth and expansion.

*Rail Industrial Access Program connecting businesses to freight rail service by funding the construction or improvement of railroad tracks and facilities to serve industrial or commercial sites where freight rail service is currently needed or anticipated in the future.

*Corporate Income Tax Credits for multiple industry and business sectors.

*Property Tax Exemptions for multiple types of industry and business property, equipment and tools.

*Sales & Use Tax Exemptions on gross receipts derived from retail sales or leases of tangible personal property, unless the retail sales or leases are specifically exempt by law.

9. MISSISSIPPI

Capital: Jackson

Population: 2.98 million (2017)

GDP: $111.7 billion (2017)

Largest cities: Jackson, Gulfport, Southaven, Hattiesburg

Targeted industries: Aerospace, Advanced Manufacturing, Shipbuilding, Agribusiness, Automotive, Forestry & Energy, Healthcare

Site location success story: Amazon leasing a 1 million-square-foot facility in DeSoto County’s Olive Branch for a fulfillment center that brings 500 new full-time jobs. Just 11 months ago, Amazon disclosed plans for its Marshall County fulfillment center that’s employing 850 workers.

Key agency: Mississippi Economic Development Council

Key site-selection incentives:

*Development Infrastructure Grant Program to finance infrastructure projects for manufacturers, warehouses and distribution centers, research and development facilities, telecommunications and data processing facilities and national or regional headquarters.

*Energy Efficiency Revolving Loan Program for businesses and other eligible entities that are increasing energy efficiency in their buildings, equipment and processes.

*Standard Property Tax Exemptions that local governing authorities may grant businesses locating or expanding in their areas for up to 10 years.

*Industrial Revenue Bond Program to finance companies’ location or expansion projects in the state.

*Advantage Jobs Incentive Program for businesses that create new, high-quality jobs through locating or expanding in the state.

*Growth and Prosperity Program state income tax, franchise tax and property tax exemptions for up to 10 years, as well as a sales and use tax exemption on equipment and machinery purchased during initial construction or an expansion at an approved facility.

*Jobs Tax Credit equal to a percentage of payroll for each newly created job for a five-year period for eligible businesses.

*Mississippi Aerospace Initiative Incentives Program is a 10-year income and franchise tax exemption and a sales and use tax exemption for the start-up of a new facility or expansion of an existing facility that manufactures or assemble products for use in—or that provides research and development or training services to—the aerospace industry.

*Mississippi Clean Energy Initiative Program is a 10-year income and franchise tax exemption and a sales and use tax exemption for the start-up of a new—or expansion of an existing—clean energy business.

*Mississippi Data Center Incentives for a business enterprise certified by the state as a data center.

*National or Regional Headquarters Sales Tax Exemption for an eligible business that creates or expands its national or regional headquarters in the state.

*Property Tax Exemption for Industrial Revenue Bond Financing.

*Property Tax Exemption on In-State Inventory (finished goods that will remain in the state).

*Research and Development Skills Tax Credit for a five-year period for each position requiring R&D skills.

10. LOUISIANA

Capital: Baton Rouge

Population: 4.68 million (2017)

GDP: $246.3 billion (2017)

Largest cities: New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Metairie

Targeted industries: Software Development, Energy, Automotive, Advanced Manufacturing, Aerospace, Process Industries, Agribusiness, Water Management, Entertainment

Site location success story: Testronic, a leading quality assurance firm in the digital gaming industry, launching a new 150-job testing facility in New Orleans that will result in another 169 new indirect jobs, for a total of 319 new jobs in New Orleans and the Southeast Region.

Key agency: Louisiana Economic Development

Key site-selection incentives:

*Competitive Projects Property Tax Exemption for non-manufacturing industry sectors, including corporate headquarters, distribution facilities, data services facilities, research and development operations, and digital media and software development centers.

*Economic Development Award Program financial assistance to influence a company’s decision to locate, relocate, maintain, rebuild and/or expand its business operations in Louisiana.

*Industrial Tax Exemption Program, which offers an attractive tax incentive for manufacturers who make a commitment to jobs and payroll in the state.

Sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, BusinessFacilities.com, Site Selection Group, Area Development.

TOP CONTAINER PORTS: LA & NY … AND THEN EVERYONE ELSE

Simon Paris – CEO, Finastra; Chairman, World Trade Board

Detlef Trefzger – CEO, Kuehne + Nagel International AG

Uwe Brinks – CEO, DHL Freight

David Abney – CEO, UPS

Ben McLean- CEO, Ruan

Simon Cox – Head of Sustainability, Prologis

JJ Ruest – President and CEO, CN (Canadian National Railway)

Kai Nowosel – Chief Procurement Officer, Accenture

Alexander Saverys – CEO, CMB (Compagnie Maritime Belge)

Thibaut de Lataillade – Global Vice President and General Manager, GetApp

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