Crowley Maritime’s switch to lift-on lift-off vessels a decade ago didn’t pay full dividends until it adopted an aligned terminal operating system to support its grounded operations at its hubs in Florida and Puerto Rico.
As consumer demand in the US plummets due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), trans-Pacific carriers are suspending entire strings in addition to blanking additional sailings from Asia in the second quarter.
The Maersk subsidiary line will begin a weekly service connecting Port Everglades to the Dominican Republic and Haiti in July, adding to the nearly 1 million TEU the port already handles from the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.
The first Central American vessel as part of two vessel strings from Seaboard Marine to the US East coast visited Savannah this week, a growing trade lane that has generated a 70 percent increase in imports in Georgia since 2014.
The merits of Caribbean ports’ terminal overbuild depends on one’s stake. It's good news for container lines considering hub options in the Caribbean Basin but bad news for terminal operators seeking to entice them.
As the US and relief organizations struggle to move goods across battered Puerto Rico, Hurricane Maria's legacy will include long-term damage to supply chains.