Largest Vessel to Call at The Port of Philadelphia Arrives from the West Coast of South America2/15/2018
Philadelphia, PA, February 14, 2018 - The largest container vessel to ever call at The Port of Philadelphia has arrived yesterday at the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal. The M/V MSC Shuba B arrived from the West Coast of South America with a cargo of predominately perishable fruit. The origin of most of the cargo was from Chile and Peru, which included table grapes, peaches, plums, pears and blueberries.
PhilaPort has a long history of trade with the agriculturally rich countries of Chile and Peru. In 2017, the value of the cargo originating from Chile had a value of over $1.1 billion dollars and $475 million from Peru, a 15 percent increase from the previous year. "Being able to handle a 12,200 TEU container capacity vessel is a game changer", said Jeff Theobald, Executive Director and CEO of PhilaPort. "This size of vessel is increasingly being used as the workhorse for shipping lines around the world. It's the reason why we are working so hard to make the necessary capital improvements which we have planned as quickly as possible." PhilaPort is currently implementing a $300 million infrastructure improvement plan which includes wharf strengthening, new cranes, paving and many other terminal improvements. In 2017, the Port realized 19 percent growth in its containerized cargo volumes handling 548,000 containers. "It's great to see this new class of vessel here before we have our new cranes and the official opening of the new deeper channel", said Tom Holt, President of Holt Logistics. "It's definitely a sign of more good things to come." The M/V MSC Shuba B is as large as the new 60-story Comcast Technology Building being constructed in Philadelphia at 1,100 feet long and a deadweight of 134,000 mt. This is the largest class of vessel that MSC currently has calling the U.S. East Coast. Original Article by Jacob Adelman, Staff Writer @jacobadelman | [email protected]
A massive, mostly vacant land parcel beside Philadelphia International Airport could become a bustling shipping hub for everything from medicine to car parts under a plan to develop the site into a new air-freight complex serving a swath of the northeastern United States. The airport last month acquired control of the so-called Henderson Tract, which sprawls 135 acres — an area similar in size to the entire King of Prussia Mall and its parking lots — to the immediate west of its passenger terminals. The move caps a years-long battle over the fate of the property in Tinicum Township, Delaware County, and is a first step by Philadelphia toward cashing in on its location among some of the nation’s biggest population centers in hopes of becoming a major air-freight power. Up for grabs could be an estimated $50 billion in air-cargo business generated in the Philadelphia region, all but 9 percent of which is now lost to airports to the south, in Baltimore and Washington, and to the north, in New York and Newark, N.J., because Philadelphia doesn’t have the capacity to take it on, said James Tyrrell, the airport’s chief revenue officer. Despite its name, the area to the northeast of the Henderson land known as Cargo City is mostly used for purposes other than shipping, such as American Airlines Inc.’s catering facility, Tyrrell said. “We have not been involved, for all intents and purposes, in the cargo business,” he said. “And we want to get involved.” The city took possession of the Henderson property on Jan. 19 for $54.5 million in compensation after settling litigation over past efforts to condemn the land for airport use, an airport spokeswoman said. The city could wind up paying more to the property’s former owners, the Henderson Group development company and related entities, if a panel to be convened by the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas determines that its fair market value is higher. Henderson representatives have in the past accused the city of trying to acquire the land, undeveloped but for two now-vacant industrial buildings, for less than its actual value. Henderson Group spokesman Kevin Feeley declined last week to comment on the deal with the city. The land’s acquisition — like all airport activities — is being financed through fees paid by airlines to use the facility, as will its redevelopment at a cost that is yet to be established, Tyrell said. Tyrrell said that it was not yet clear what form the air-cargo facility would take but that there appears to be demand among shippers for facilities with space to park planes near warehouses for easy loading and unloading. A mid-January workshop held to present the site to potential future users was attended by representatives of FedEx Corp. and of Amazon Air, the growing air-shipping subsidiary of the e-commerce giant with a hub in Hebron, Ky., near Cincinnati, among others, Tyrrell said. “We’re looking for the leaders in the industry to tell us how we can take advantage of this opportunity,” he said. A message left with FedEx was not returned. An Amazon spokesman said he had no details to provide about the company’s interest in Philadelphia’s air-shipping expansion. The air-freight company with the most significant current Philadelphia foothold is United Parcel Service Inc., which employs 3,100 at a hub on 212 acres along Hog Island Road. It includes a 681,000-square-foot sorting building and a 50-acre aircraft ramp. Brandon Stallard, chief executive of Troy, Mich.-based supply chain management company TPS Logistics, said he can imagine the facility being used by pharmaceutical companies to rush drugs to market or by car manufacturers speeding auto equipment from cargo ships to their final U.S. destinations during recalls. “There’s just a heck of a lot of volume that happens on the East Coast,” said Stallard, who is not involved with the proposal. Airport officials are beginning preliminary work on the project, such as determining whether any environmental remediation or wetland habitat restoration work will be needed, Tyrell said. The project also will require working with Delaware County and Tinicum Township to relocate Tinicum Island Road, which separates the Henderson land from the airport itself. Harold Epps, director of the city’s Commerce Department, which operates the airport, said he sees the air-freight expansion plan, along with the deepening of the Delaware River navigation channel and updates to the Port of Philadelphia’s terminals, as part of a larger effort to take advantage of the city’s central location along the mid-Atlantic Seaboard. With flight paths and shipping lanes much less crowded than those in the New York and Washington areas, Philadelphia should be an attractive gateway to the densely populated region, Epps said. “We have just under-leveraged our location and our assets at both ports, and now we’re beginning to recognize the value they can add to the supply chain,” Epps said. “Our location gives us a significant capability to be a feeder for the region and the rest of the state.” Original Article Via Global Trade Magazine The Trump administration’s efforts to re-negotiate NAFTA continue amidst uncertainty and growing concern whether the parties will be able to conclude talks successfully. Several major issues are still pending resolution, so the NAFTA talks have been extended through the first quarter of 2018, including a negotiating round in Montreal in late January.
With such significant conceptual gaps between the parties, the future of the agreement is in question—but what is truly at stake? What would a post-NAFTA world look like? To analyze the potential impact of withdrawal on job growth, competitiveness, and geopolitics, the Wilson Center partnered with the Council of the Americas to co-host a discussion with city mayors, former ambassadors and business leaders from the three NAFTA countries. “If the world cannot trust the United States to uphold an international agreement that was negotiated by a Republican administration and passed under a Democratic administration, with both bipartisan and bicameral support, the credibility of the United States in highly sensitive trade matters would be suspect from now until long into the future,” said Eric Farnsworth, Vice President, Americas Society/Council of the Americas. “NAFTA is a story of success, of growth, of jobs,” said Kevin Faulconer, mayor of San Diego. “Free trade works. It works for our country, it works for our city. Oftentimes a product will cross the border two or three times before it’s finished. What a great example of NAFTA. “There is now a $2.5 billion supply chain, this didn’t exist back in 1994,” he added. “We are in this together,” said Don Iveson, mayor of Edmonton. “All three North American countries constantly work together on trade. Edmonton does $1 billion in trade with Houston alone, in oil and gas, intellectual property, advanced manufacturing.” “It would be devastating to lose NAFTA because it would put American businesses at a disadvantage,” said Paola Avila, vice president of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. “It’s more than NAFTA supply chains that are integrated, it’s our economies. When one catches a cold, the others get a fever.” “The potential tariff increases themselves from a NAFTA withdrawal aren’t the primary issue,” said Karan Bhatia, vice president for government affairs and policy at General Electric. “The resulting uncertainty is the real problem. We at GE support an updated and strengthened NAFTA.” “Beyond the economic numbers is the more compelling story of how NAFTA changed the geopolitical landscape of all North America for the better,” said Arturo Sarukhan, former Mexican ambassador to the US. “With a presidential election coming up and plummeting perceptions of the United State in Mexico, the wiggle room a Mexican administration may have to accept deals that make or break NAFTA in four to eight months may be zero.” Original Article Via Temple University Health System ![]() Temple University Hospital (TUH) performed 131 lung transplants in calendar year 2017, making it the number 1 volume program in the nation according to data just released by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). Temple’s lung transplant volume has grown steadily in recent years, increasing from only 5 transplants in 2011, to 131 in 2017. “Since 2011, we have recruited top talent and made significant process and protocol improvements,” says Verdi J. DiSesa, MD, MBA, President & Chief Executive Officer of TUH, Chief Operating Officer of Temple University Health System and Senior Vice Dean for Clinical Affairs at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (LKSOM). “To accomplish 131 lung transplants in a single year and to reach this level in such a short period of time is nothing short of extraordinary. This truly is a demonstration of the talent and dedication of our transplant team and a measure of our commitment to serve patients who are in need of highly skilled, complex care.” Temple’s Lung Transplantation Program and the nationally recognized Temple Lung Center are comprised of physicians, nurses, therapists, pharmacists, social workers, laboratory technicians and administrative and support personnel who work around the clock to provide cutting edge medical and surgical care to patients with complex and advanced lung disorders. “Our lung transplant team doesn’t work in isolation,” adds Dr. DiSesa. “This milestone is also testament to outstanding work by everyone associated with the program – from clinicians and caregivers to those who work behind the scenes to arrange for organs, and support patients throughout every phase of the process and beyond.” The Temple Lung Center is a national leader in treating both common and complex lung problems, including asthma, emphysema, COPD, chronic bronchitis, lung cancer, sarcoidosis, pneumonia and pulmonary hypertension. One of the most active centers for pulmonary care in the nation, the Temple Lung Center treats tens of thousands of patients every year. “The collective achievements of the Temple Lung Center and the transplant team embody Temple’s commitment to building the best pulmonary program in the nation,” says Dr. DiSesa. Original Article Date Published: Tuesday, January 16, 2018 Date: Wednesday, February 14, 2018 Time: 8:30 - 11:30 a.m. Location: BDP International - 510 Walnut St., Mezzanine Level, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (Google Maps) Join us and learn how the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) may impact your business when it comes into force on May 25th, 2018. The GDPR applies to U.S. companies:
Failure to comply with the GDPR could result in stiff fines as high as 4% of your company’s overall revenue. Questions? Please contact: Tony Pu, International Trade Specialist U.S. Commercial Service [email protected] Via Philadelphia International Medicine Philadelphia and Lithuania coming together to share medical knowledge, technology and improve health care in both communities ![]() PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia International Medicine (PIM) and Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos (VUH SK) of Lithuania have agreed to work towards improving health outcomes in their regions through mutual physician education and clinical programs. Through a recent Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two organizations, they agreed to develop a collaborative relationship in the areas of clinical and administrative training, physician exchanges, enhancing the continuum of care and other joint opportunities. This is PIM’s first affiliation with a European hospital, although PIM has an extensive network of affiliations established in the Caribbean and Mexico. The VUH SK -- PIM Health Gateway initiative creates the means to share medical knowledge and technology while working to improve the accessibility to highly skilled care to the community. These organizations jointly will explore specific programs striving to enhance overall healthcare in both Philadelphia and Vilnius/Lithuania. “This MOU marks PIM’s expansion into Europe, and we are honored to link with one of the largest academic medical centers in the Baltic region,” said Leonard Karp, president and CEO of PIM. “We look forward to exchanges and that will improve the quality of health care both in Lithuania and in Philadelphia. One of our first projects together will be sharing medical information through PIM’s live online medical lecture series, Global Education Media (GEM).” “PIM is looking forward to working with Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos to build a professional relationship not only with their physicians, but also with the community they serve in Lithuania,” Karp explained. Karp said Lithuanian Honorary Consul Krista Bard was instrumental in bringing the two organizations together. “The first Lithuanians came to the United States via Pennsylvania, and the Lithuanian diaspora community here is one of the largest and most active in the world, proudly working to facilitate exchanges in excellence, particularly in life sciences. It is an honor to partner with Philadelphia International Medicine: sharing a vision of healing, providing better care for our people, and creating a future of vitality. We hold our friendship with Philadelphia International Medicine in the highest regard, and know that our collaborations will enrich lives of those involved and those served,” said Lithuanian Honorary Consul General Krista Butvydas Bard. During this ongoing partnership, PIM will offer VUH SK physicians with access to medical education, medical training, innovative uses of technology and coordinated comprehensive patient care. PIM agreed to lay the foundation by identifying specific opportunities and initiatives involving cooperative programs in research, education, training, clinical referrals, marketing and administration. This collaboration will facilitate a relationship between the VUH SK and PIM health networks, its affiliated hospitals and members to provide a better understanding of each party’s culture, communities and norms. “We strongly believe that this friendship with world-renowned hospitals of Philadelphia, embedded into an inspiring and flourishing environment of Pennsylvania’s, “Cellicon Valley”, will lead us not only to the improvement of healthcare services for our patients today, but also to promising future research and development projects for the sake of healthcare of future generations,” said Dr. Birute Tumiene of Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos. The MOU specifically covers four areas of on-going continued education including live, video conference seminars through PIM’s Global Education Media (GEM) program, physician medical education through the Physician Partnership Program (PPP), physician and consultant visits through conferences, patient referrals and second opinions. In addition to GEM, physicians from VUH SK will be eligible to participate in the Physician Partnership Program (PPP), a global competitive scholarship program offered by PIM to its hospital partners around the world. Under the PPP program, practicing specialists will be chosen by PIM for a stipend to visit the hospitals in the Philadelphia area, where they will be paired with a physician from PIM and participate as adjunct faculty in team meetings, rounds and observation at clinics and surgery. The one-week program will offer VUH SK physicians the opportunity to engage in an intensive peer-to-peer clinical development program while forming relationships with physicians and the community in Philadelphia, and other global participants. About Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos (VUH SK) is one of the major hospitals in Lithuania encompassing the provision of medical care in almost all key areas. Vilnius University and the Lithuanian Ministry of Health are the founders of Santaros Klinikos. The activities of the Hospital encompasses practical and scientific medicine, education of students and residents, continuing professional training of medical specialists, modern management based on modern information technology solutions is applied. Learn more about VUH SK by visiting http://www.santa.lt/index.php. About Philadelphia International Medicine Philadelphia International Medicine (PIM) is a healthcare organization dedicated to bringing the services of nine prestigious Philadelphia area hospitals to the international community. PIM’s network includes Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple University Hospital, and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital as anchor organizations and affiliate healthcare organizations include Wills Eye Hospital, Rothman Institute Orthopedics, the Vincera Institute, the Visiting Nurses Association, Magee Rehabilitation Hospital and the Renfrew Center. Learn more about PIM by visiting www.philadelphiamedicine.com. Via Global Trade Matters, Written by Ralph Carter This week and last negotiators from the United States, Canada, and Mexico met in Montreal to update the regional North American Free Trade Agreement. While there has been considerable progress in many areas, there are some issues yet to be resolved. One area that FedEx is extremely interested in relates to the growth of the digital economy and ecommerce, and the free movement of data across borders. As the founder of FedEx, Fred Smith noted years ago, the information about a package is as important as the package itself. We couldn’t run our global express network, or provide up-to-the-minute tracking without the ability to move data around the world. Consider all of the data required to process your single ecommerce order: from the data architecture of each website to the data required to place the order, pay for it, select it from a warehouse, place it on the right plane or truck and then deliver it to the right address, and possibly return it. NAFTA gives us the opportunity to enact modern rules that protect the flow of this data across borders. While US negotiators are working to ensure the free flow of data across borders they are also working to simplify the physical movement of goods by asking Mexico and Canada to raise their de minimis levels. De minimis is the value below which a good enters a country duty free. In the US goods valued below $800 enter duty free. But in Mexico the limit is about $50 and in Canada it is only about $15. That means Canadian residents are charged duty and taxes on very low priced ecommerce products from the US or Mexico. This huge disparity puts US ecommerce vendors, and FedEx customers, at a significant disadvantage when compared to their Mexican and Canadian competitors. Narrowing this gap will help small businesses in the US export more to Canada and Mexico. It will also help Mexican and Canadian consumers by giving them more choice and better prices. For FedEx, raising de minimis levels and simplifying the movement of low-value goods across borders is a priority in these negotiations. Now is the time to address this disparity and create a globally competitive North American e-commerce marketplace. Ralph Carter is managing director for legal, trade, and international affairs at FedEx Express. Original Article Via Global Trade Magazine ![]() A new report prepared by Trade Partnership Worldwide for the Business Roundtable finds that a termination of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) would have significant negative impacts on the US economy and US employment. Termination would re-impose high costs of tariffs on US exports and imports, which would reduce the competitiveness of US businesses both domestically and abroad. It’s a subject worth considering, as President Donald Trump regularly threatens to pull the US out of the trade accord and negotiations aimed at revising the agreement hit multiple speed bumps. US exports would drop, to Canada, Mexico and globally, as US output becomes more expensive and US become less competitive. Foreign purchasers would shift away from US goods and services in favor of lower-cost goods and services made elsewhere, in Asia. Related Content: US Transpacific Ocean Cargo Continues to Trend Eastward“These efficiency losses and trade shifts,” says the report, “would have an impact on US production of both goods and services, and thus also on US employment.” The report estimates that, if NAFTA is terminated and most-favored nation (MFN) duties are re-imposed for US trade with Canada and Mexico, the level of US output would fall 0.6 percent below levels that would prevail if NAFTA were in effect in each of the first five years after termination. Lower output will translate to less employment: 1.8 million workers would lose their jobs in the first year. In the longer term, terminating NAFTA would have negative impacts on jobs, exports, and output after new supply chains are formed. The report estimates that US GDP would remain depressed by over 0.2 percent, permanently. Terminating NAFTA would cause US GDP to drop from levels reached in 2016 by between 0.6 percent and 1.2 percent for each year the agreement is no longer in effect during the first five years. up to and including the first one to five years after termination. This represents a hit to US economic output of between $119 billion and $231 billion. The output declines would impact nearly every sector of the US economy. Services sectors would be hit the hardest because they are the largest component of the US economy and would suffer as manufacturing, agriculture, and energy also decline. Lower incomes and higher unemployment means reduced spending power for the nation’s 126 million households, at a rate of between $654 to $1,264 per household per year in the first five years after NAFTA’s termination. As households pull back on spending, services like education, entertainment, and healthcare will feel the brunt. Goods exports will fall across all sectors, prompting investors to shift capital away from the most adversely impacted sectors—and out of the US as a whole. Reduced output would hit employment, with most job affecting workers in lower-skilled occupations, including production workers in manufacturing and agriculture and lower-wage workers in services industries. Wages would also decline, by 0.9 percent to 1.9 percent. The drop in US output will be attributable in part to a decline in US exports to the world. US producers will be less competitive in global markets, the report found, and imports will also drop, thanks to their higher costs. Among US states, California would be hit hardest by the termination of NAFTA in terms of economic output with a loss of $16.7 billion. Withdrawal from NAFTA would also reduce California’s exports to Mexico and Canada by nearly $10 billion and would cost the state over 215,000 in the first year. In the less egregious of two scenarios presented in the report, New York and Texas would each lose almost $10 billion in economic output in the short to medium term. Texas and Michigan would each lose $4.4 billion in exports to the world while South Carolina and Ohio would each lose around $2 billion. Without NAFTA, Texas will lose 154,000 jobs in the short to medium term, New York will lose 117,000 jobs, and Florida, 110,000. “Terminating NAFTA would be expensive to the United States by any measure,” the report concludes. “Terminating NAFTA would permanently reduce U.S. economic output, exports and employment,” but would be a win for trading partners outside the NAFTA region. “As supply chains shift to take advantage of relatively lower-cost production opportunities in non-NAFTA countries,” the report explains, “those economies would grow faster and, with that growth, expand employment.” Original Article Via PhilaPort Philadelphia, PA January 29, 2018 — As the Port’s $392 million Main Channel Deepening Project approaches 100% completion, cargo volumes in The Port of Philadelphia are surging. In 2017, container cargoes grew by 19%, leading all ports on the U.S. Atlantic seaboard. The growth is especially significant since the Port is busy implementing its $300 million capital improvement plan. “We have a lot of exciting developments all occurring at the same time, record cargo growth, preparation for the deepened channel and the arrival of our new cranes,” said Jeff Theobald PhilaPort CEO and Executive Director. “It’s all very good news and we want to make sure we support the surge in cargo with proper training and landside and infrastructure improvements.” Next month the first two of a total of four super post-Panamax cranes are due at the Port’s Packer Avenue Marine Terminal (PAMT). Ocean carriers are already supporting the growth by scheduling Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCV) to call the Port. Several 11,000 TEU vessels started calling PAMT in December and 12,200 TEU vessels are expected in the coming days. Recently, the Board of Directors of The Port of Philadelphia granted funds to the Pilots’ Association for the Bay and River Delaware to train for these new class of vessels 12,000–14,000 TEUs. “Our investment in this vital infrastructure asset continues to yield significant economic returns across the Commonwealth,” said Governor Tom Wolf. “The near completion of the channel deepening project combined with record-breaking activity at PhilaPort means more jobs and an economic advantage allowing Pennsylvania to compete globally.” The five-day simulation training program occurred at the Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS). The pilots were joined by docking pilots and tug operators including personnel from Moran Towing Corporation, McAllister Towing, Inc. and Wilmington Tug, Inc. During the five-day simulation, the participants:
The long-anticipated completion of the Delaware River Main Channel Deepening Project from 40’ to 45’ is drawing to a close. In March, the Port expects announcements on a phased approach which will allow vessels to utilize increased arrival and departure draft depth. Original Article |
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