Florida ports have remained largely unaffected by the trade conflict between the US and China, noting an uptick in volumes this year, and further expectations of volume growth from Asia.

A spokesperson for various ports in the southeastern US state said growth has been observed in all its services – including Europe and Latin America – but that the fastest increase has been in its Asia market.

“It’s been an incredible year. We’ve seen the services grow in the state of Florida from Asia, and the Port of Miami as well,” Eric Olafson, director for global trade and business initiatives at the Port of Miami, who also represents the Florida Ports Council (FPC), told Asia Cargo News.

“We expect to see this growth continue. You will see for the whole state of Florida. China had super incredible growth, then Vietnam, then Thailand,” he added.

Growth in Asia trade volumes

Asia trade to Florida has seen a 17.3% rise over the last three years, with China leading the growth at an average of 7.7% from 2016 to 2018. Vietnam and India logged the largest increases at 44.5% and 53%, respectively, to place 2nd and 3rd in terms of trade with Florida, followed by South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan and Singapore.

“Asia is one of our state’s top trading partners, but there is still an opportunity to expand trade and investment relationships,” Doug Wheeler, president and CEO of the Florida Ports Council, said in a statement. “There’s an abundance of mutually beneficial market prospects in Asia, and we are excited to expand trade and build relationships.”

The Port of Miami alone is poised to record a banner year as Asia trade grows, with China as its top trading partner, followed by Indonesia (whose trade has grown 86%), Malaysia (67%), India (48%), Singapore (33%), Vietnam (18%) and Taiwan (14%).

“We have just announced at the Port of Miami that we have had a record year – 1.1 million containers, that has never happened before. This is just October figures, so we’ve seen a record year. We have not seen a decrease in trade. We’ve seen that Asia trade continues to grow at a double-digit pace,” Olafson said.

“We see a continuation of this trend,” he added, further explaining that the continuous trade growth could be attributed to the strong US economy, increasing tourism and robust domestic consumption.

“The United States is a huge consumer market and Asia is a big manufacturing market, so I think that’s why we have seen the trade growth between the two,” he said, also noting that the US economy has remained strong despite slowing growth elsewhere in the world.

The Port of Jacksonville in northern Florida is also seeing an uptrend in its Asia volumes, with a 14% increase recorded year-on-year and the fourth consecutive year of growth so far.

“We’re seeing record growth and are going to hit another record high. I believe about 40% of our container business is running from Asia, and it’s increasing,” Frederick Wong, JAXPORT COO, told Asia Cargo News.

“We’re looking at consumer goods – textile, commodities, food from Asia,” he added, noting that the port’s connectivity makes it easier for goods to reach around 70 million consumers within a day.

“We have so much connectivity through our highway system and through our rails that run right to Jacksonville. Our highways are connected to our ports – you come direct and you just berth from there. It is so conducive for cargo,” Wong said. “Our target is to try to be the first port in or last port out.”

JAXPORT’s ongoing investments on deep dredge, which are set to be completed in 2023, will also allow two vessels to pass simultaneously with no waiting and no queuing, according to Wong.

In 2018, the port’s top export destinations in Asia included China, Japan, Thailand, South Korea and Taiwan, with Vietnam included in that group among its top import countries.

Port Everglades link to Latin America

Port Everglades, in southern Florida, is also looking to grow its Asian market, as its current key trading partners are still mainly concentrated in South and Central America, including Honduras, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Brazil and the Bahamas, which make up about 60% of its trade volumes.

“We’re hoping to expand with Asia as a new market for us. We have 1% [at the moment], and that’s all of Asia – not just China, that’s Vietnam, Thailand, the others,” Jim Pyburn, director of business development at Port Everglades, told Asia Cargo News.

Pyburn added that Port Everglades is currently investing in port infrastructure to widen and deepen its berths from 47 feet to 50 feet, a project which could be completed in four to five years, in order to accommodate mega-ships, as he noted strong interest from Asian carriers to use the port to connect to Latin America.

“Everywhere from Shanghai to Taipei to Hong Kong, they’re interested in Port Everglades, especially for us as a conduit to Latin America. We are geographically very, very convenient, particularly to the Caribbean, Central American and South American destinations, and that’s why the Asian carriers are interested in us,” Pyburn said, noting that Port Everglades currently handles 15% of all United States trade with Latin America.

“We’re hoping to expand in [Asia], and when we have the deepening and widening, and carriers can bring their ships from this region to our region,” he added.

Optimistic outlook for Asia trade

The main products from Asia entering the US through Florida ports include apparel, seafood, electronics and appliances.

Florida ports anticipate further growth in volumes, depending upon the trade deals struck by the US and China, although the ports' representatives noted that USEast Coast ports, in general, remain isolated from the worst impacts of the trade war.

“We have not seen it yet,” Olafson said of the impact of the trade tension. “All we can say is that we’ve seen such good numbers that we’re very pleased.”

Olafson said that like the trade agreement that US President Donald J. Trump signed with Japan, a China deal would further expand trade between Asia and the US.

“You saw President Trump sign a deal with Japan recently. That will help increase trade further,” Olafson said. “Now, if we get a similar trade agreement with China, then we can continue to grow with China and all the Asian markets,” he added.

By Charlee C. Delavin

Asia Cargo News | Hong Kong