ground breakers
Panama aims to become a
crossroads of global trade
; Procter & Gamble Co. has begun construction on what will reportedly be Asia’s largest
distribution center. The facility in Guangzhou,
China, will be jointly built by P&G and the
Chinese government at an eventual cost of
more than $100 million. When finished, the
DC will feature P&G’s first real-time transportation management system.
; Uline Shipping Supplies has leased
282,393 square feet of space at the Auburn
Logistics Center in Auburn, Wash. The new
facility, scheduled to open in April, will initially employ 50 to 80 people.
; Global industrial real estate developer
ProLogis has announced that it has signed
lease agreements totaling approximately
345,000 square feet with four customers in
Mexico. They are Ansell Perry, a supplier of
barrier protective solutions like surgical
gloves; M&M Land Logistics, a Mexican 3PL;
CKS Mexico, a high-tech display manufacturer and service provider; and an undisclosed
company that distributes orthopedic devices.
The company has also signed two lease
agreements for distribution space in its
hometown of Denver. Kwik Tech Inc., a distributor of water sports and marine accessories, has leased 109,000 square feet at the
Peoria Distribution Center in Denver. Broder
Bros. Co., a wholesale distributor of apparel
and accessories, has leased 63,000 square
feet of space at the Stapleton Business
Center.
; VersaCold, a provider of cold storage and
distribution services, has opened a new DC at
the Port of Tacoma, Wash. The new 196,600-
square-foot Tacoma facility provides 65 jobs,
which could grow to 100 with an 85,000-
square-foot expansion in the works.
PHOTO COURTESY OF PANAMA CANAL AUTHORIT Y
The long-awaited Panama Canal expansion, slated for completion in 2014, will be
a “game changer” that will make Panama
“the most important cargo hub in the
Americas,” declared Rodolfo Sabonge, the
Panama Canal Authority’s vice president
of market research and analysis, in his
keynote speech at the Council of Supply
Chain Management Professionals’ 2010
Annual Global Conference in San Diego.
Sabonge said the new, larger locks
now under construction, which are
designed to accommodate much bigger
ships than the current infrastructure can handle, will fundamentally change the way carriers deploy their vessels. He predicted
that some would adopt a “reverse intermodal” approach, skipping
calls on the U.S. West Coast and funneling containers destined for
other U.S. markets through trans-shipment hubs in Panama. That
route will be cheaper than intermodal moves via West Coast
ports, particularly for 53-foot containers, he asserted.
Furthermore, carriers will see financial benefit in picking up
backhauls from the U.S. East and Gulf coasts and Central and
South America, and feeding them into east-west routes served by
the new class of giant post-Panamax vessels, he added.
Containerized shipping is not the only industry segment that
will benefit from an expanded Panama Canal. Large bulk and liquid carriers whose vessels currently are too large to transit the
canal will have an entirely new route open to them, Sabonge said.
For example, liquid natural gas (LNG) tankers will for the first
time be able to use the canal. As a result, transportation and
logistics costs for some commodities will drop sharply, and new
markets and trade lanes will open up. This development will
facilitate new trade flows between South America, Europe, and
China, in particular, he said.
Changing trade and cost patterns as well as strong economic
growth in South American markets will attract more manufacturing, assembly, and logistics operations to Panama, Sabonge predicted. To accommodate that anticipated growth, Panama is expanding
the already city-sized Colón Free Zone near the canal’s Atlantic
entry point. According to the Free Zone’s website, there are now 10
warehouse projects under way or planned for the near future. At the
other end of the canal, the Panamá Pacífico industrial development
is opening new office, warehousing, and manufacturing properties
for international companies at a rapid clip. To help meet expected
demand for a trained workforce, the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) and its Colombian affiliate, the Center for Latin
American Logistics Innovation, will soon open a logistics and
transportation education center in Panama. ;
—T.G.
; AMB Property Corp., a global industrial
real estate developer, recently leased 283,200
square feet of distribution space in China.
AMB reports that it has leased186,200 square
feet of space at its Guangzhou development
zone logistics center, 66,400 square feet at its
Jiaxing distribution center, and 30,600 square
feet at its Dalian distribution center.
