Post by portofconfusion on Oct 10, 2008 16:59:05 GMT -5
Mexico's port plan examined
By Kristopher Hanson
10/09/2008
For decades, Long Beach and Los Angeles have gone mostly unchallenged as the premier shipping hub for goods manufactured in Asia and destined for the American marketplace.
The twin seaports offered enough dockage space, rail capacity and skilled labor to handle the ever-growing crush of freight shipped across the Pacific in a global economy.
And the ports' proximity to lucrative centers of commerce in Southern California and the Southwest made them the ports of choice for trans-Pacific trade.
But a potential threat to this coveted position has emerged in the form of a planned megaport south of the border in Baja California.
During the past 18 months, Mexican authorities have laid the groundwork for what President Felipe Calderon says is his nation's "most important infrastructure project" in decades.
Planners envision the massive deep-sea port on Baja California's west coast handling up to 6million containers annually - about as many as are now handled each year in Long Beach.
Port workers would load containers arriving by ship onto trains, then send the freight inland to border-crossing points in Arizona and Texas. The port site sits 275 miles south of L.A.
On Tuesday, Mexican officials joined local port authorities at California State University, Dominguez Hills, to discuss the impact of the proposed Puerto Colonet on future trade in the Los Angeles region.
"Competition is good because it forces everyone to sharpen their pencils and plan ahead," said Don Snyder, the Port of Long Beach director of trade relations. "We think there's going to be enough cargo for everyone, but we're going to do everything we can to remain relevant and attractive to shippers."
Indeed, Los Angeles and Long Beach are expected to more than double their volume by 2020 - from about 17 million containers to 36 million.
If the planned Puerto Colonet siphoned off 6million containers annually, that represents just one-sixth of the total volume bound for Southern California.
"It will and has to be a collaborative effort," said Juan Carlos Gutierrez, Mexico's consular general in Los Angeles. "There should be cooperation in this global age for the health of our economy and region."
Mexico opened up the bidding process for the $5 billion megaport project this summer, and so far no investors have committed in writing.
However, several large entities, including Union Pacific, Hutchinson Port Holdings and a consortium of landowners and terminal operators, have held discussions.
And the Mexican government has cleared several important legal and land-use hurdles to pave the way for the project.
Most of the cargo handled at Colonet would end up in the American Midwest, which is where nearly 40 percent of Long Beach-Los Angeles-bound cargo is now destined.
Long Beach port Commissioner Mario Cordero said the proposed port serves as a vivid reminder of the ever-changing nature of a global economy.
"Everybody is developing megaports, and that's one of the effects of globalization," Cordero said. "But now with (Puerto) Colonet, we have a megaport being developed next door. It changes things."
By Kristopher Hanson
10/09/2008
For decades, Long Beach and Los Angeles have gone mostly unchallenged as the premier shipping hub for goods manufactured in Asia and destined for the American marketplace.
The twin seaports offered enough dockage space, rail capacity and skilled labor to handle the ever-growing crush of freight shipped across the Pacific in a global economy.
And the ports' proximity to lucrative centers of commerce in Southern California and the Southwest made them the ports of choice for trans-Pacific trade.
But a potential threat to this coveted position has emerged in the form of a planned megaport south of the border in Baja California.
During the past 18 months, Mexican authorities have laid the groundwork for what President Felipe Calderon says is his nation's "most important infrastructure project" in decades.
Planners envision the massive deep-sea port on Baja California's west coast handling up to 6million containers annually - about as many as are now handled each year in Long Beach.
Port workers would load containers arriving by ship onto trains, then send the freight inland to border-crossing points in Arizona and Texas. The port site sits 275 miles south of L.A.
On Tuesday, Mexican officials joined local port authorities at California State University, Dominguez Hills, to discuss the impact of the proposed Puerto Colonet on future trade in the Los Angeles region.
"Competition is good because it forces everyone to sharpen their pencils and plan ahead," said Don Snyder, the Port of Long Beach director of trade relations. "We think there's going to be enough cargo for everyone, but we're going to do everything we can to remain relevant and attractive to shippers."
Indeed, Los Angeles and Long Beach are expected to more than double their volume by 2020 - from about 17 million containers to 36 million.
If the planned Puerto Colonet siphoned off 6million containers annually, that represents just one-sixth of the total volume bound for Southern California.
"It will and has to be a collaborative effort," said Juan Carlos Gutierrez, Mexico's consular general in Los Angeles. "There should be cooperation in this global age for the health of our economy and region."
Mexico opened up the bidding process for the $5 billion megaport project this summer, and so far no investors have committed in writing.
However, several large entities, including Union Pacific, Hutchinson Port Holdings and a consortium of landowners and terminal operators, have held discussions.
And the Mexican government has cleared several important legal and land-use hurdles to pave the way for the project.
Most of the cargo handled at Colonet would end up in the American Midwest, which is where nearly 40 percent of Long Beach-Los Angeles-bound cargo is now destined.
Long Beach port Commissioner Mario Cordero said the proposed port serves as a vivid reminder of the ever-changing nature of a global economy.
"Everybody is developing megaports, and that's one of the effects of globalization," Cordero said. "But now with (Puerto) Colonet, we have a megaport being developed next door. It changes things."
