Philadelphia port sees growth in cargo imports
-May 10th, 2017
Source: Philadelphia Media Network
Containerized freight in 20- and 40-foot boxes was up 28 percent in the Philadelphia port in April compared with the same month a year ago, port officials said.
The U.S. import boom continued in April, with seaborne tonnage volumes up 8.9 percent from a year earlier in the nation's ports. Container cargo imports were up 8.7 percent in March, said a report by the research firm Panjiva.
With the long-awaited Panama Canal expansion completed, Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC) last August began a weekly freight route to Philadelphia, hauling grapes, blueberries, other various fruits, and cargoes from Chile, Peru, and Ecuador, said Eric Holt, whose family runs Packer marine terminal. The MSC ships sail through the larger set of Panama Canal locks. They are the largest cargo ships ever to come up the Delaware River.
Moody’s: Outlook for global shipping industry is stable; EBITDA to stay
-May 11th, 2017
Source: Hellenic Shipping News
Moody’s Japan K.K. says that the outlook for the global shipping industry is stable, given that — after excluding M&As and spinoffs — the aggregate EBITDA of rated shipping companies will remain at similar levels in 2017 as last year.
Unlike 2016, when the industry saw double-digit EBITDA declines, the operating environment has bottomed and earnings will remain stable, although at a low level during 2017. However, a material level of industrywide earnings growth will be beyond our 12-month horizon.
Moody’s conclusions are contained in its recently released report on the global shipping sector, “Outlook Update: Shipping – Global, Stable Outlook Reflects Easing of Dry Bulk, Containership Excess Capacity; Flat EBITDA”.
Pittsburgh to Panama? Airport authority in talks with Copa Airlines
-May 11th, 2017
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
After landing nonstop flights to Iceland and Frankfurt, Pittsburgh International Airport is turning its eye south to Panama.
The Allegheny County Airport Authority is talking to Copa Airlines about starting service to Panama City. Christina Cassotis, the authority’s CEO, has had conversations with the airline about flights between Pittsburgh and Panama City, spokeswoman Alyson Walls confirmed.
“There’s nothing imminent. There’s no timetable. It’s part of that overall international air service strategy. She thinks they would be a good fit for here,” Ms. Walls said.
Ms. Cassotis mentioned the talks during a recent breakfast meeting. She also discussed the possibility of landing Copa during an interview after becoming the authority’s CEO in 2015.
Copa operates from its hub at Tocumen International Airport in Panama City, the capital of Panama. It offers about 355 flights to 69 destinations in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean from its headquarters, according to its website.
How Exxon Lobbyists Led Push to Deepen US Ports and Increase Natural Gas Exports
-May 16th, 2017
Source: DeSmog
The U.S. has signed a major deal with China to ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Asia, adding further momentum to America's hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) boom.
The deal, which includes the export of other commodities from the U.S. to China, was signed about a month after President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Much of the LNG in this deal will move across a recently expanded Panama Canal, offering a fast-track route to Asia for larger vessels, an expansion for which the oil and gas industry lobbied.
A DeSmog investigation has revealed that expanding the Panama Canal was part of a two-part process, which included an oil and gas industry push to deepen ports in the Gulf of Mexico as well. Emails obtained under the Texas Public Records Act show that lobbyists for ExxonMobil were leading this effort.
Expertos en agricultura en ambiente controlado analizan en Panamá avances y retos del sector
-17 Mayo de 2017
Fuente: Ministerio de Comercio e Industrias
Con el tema: Utilizando la ciencia y el mercado para construir una empresa exitosa de agricultura en ambiente controlado, inició en Panamá el Congreso Internacional de Agricultura en Ambiente Controlado - ICCEA 2017 (por sus siglas en inglés), en el que se congregan unos 600 participantes para abordar asuntos como: producción de cultivos, los mayores costos que enfrentan las fincas, los problemas que más confusión crean y modelos económicos, entre otros.
En la apertura del congreso, organizado por la Fundación para el Desarrollo de la Agricultura en Ambiente Controlado (FDCEA, por sus siglas en inglés), el viceministro de Comercio Exterior del MICI, Néstor González, señaló que este congreso resalta la importancia de continuar mejorando, con la introducción de nuevas tecnologías e innovaciones, para enfrentar una demanda exigente tanto del mercado local, como de clientes internacionales.
“Consideramos que el sector agro-exportador panameño, podrá optimizar sus capacidades en las últimas tendencias en la producción de alimentos; a través de la agricultura en ambiente controlado, contribuyendo a restablecer los niveles de agro exportación y autosuficiencia alimentaria que Panamá necesita, mejorando la competitividad de los productos panameños en los mercados internacionales, con la promoción del desarrollo de sistemas de trazabilidad más estructurados; siendo este uno de los principales requisitos exigidos por los mercados internaciones”, detalló el titular de Comercio Exterior.
$5.48bn Panama project on track for 2018 commissioning
-May 18th, 2017
Source: Mining Weekly
The $5.48-billion Cobre Panama copper project, being developed by First Quantum Minerals, is on track for commissioning in 2018.
Speaking at the Paydirt Latin America Downunder conference, in Perth, First Quantum global exploration director Mike Christie said on Thursday that the company was targeting a throughput rate of 60-million tonnes by the end of December, with full capacity of 75-million tonnes a year targeted in 2019, to deliver around 320 000 t/y of copper.
First Quantum would spend about $1-billion on project construction in 2017, Christie said, noting that the project was some 50% complete by the end of April this year.
A further $830-million on project capital will be spent in 2018, with a final $110-million to be spent in 2019.
Once in full production the Cobre Panama project, which is the largest capital project in Panama, rivalling the Panama Canal in terms of capital spend, will push First Quantum’s total copper production to over 900 000 t/y, making the company one of the largest copper producers in the world.