WorldCity Business Magazine

Miami TradeNumbers

by WC

South Florida’ 12 percent jump in trade results last year was a direct result of good times in Latin America, a group of experts told participants at a conference to unveil the latest issue of Miami TradeNumbers.

The annual publication tracks trade results and trends for the Miami Customs District, which encompasses airports and seaports from Fort Pierce south to Key West.

“More and more, Miami has become a city where Asia, Europe and Latin America can come together,” said WorldCity CEO Ken Roberts.

“Since we’ve been tracking the trade numbers, Miami is the only Customs district that regular has a trade surplus,” Roberts added.

Panelists at the half-day conference pointed to Latin America’s strong economic performance as the key reason for the ongoing trade growth. “Latin American currencies are stronger now and it makes [consumers] buy more goods and that will continue for some time,” said Manuel Lasaga, president of Strategic Information Analysis and one of the panelists at the half-day event.

“Regional growth in Latin America drives trade for Miami,” added Mike Derham of LatinFinance magazine. “We’re not going to see a significant slowdown or shock. Overall the region is in much better fiscal shape than we’ve ever seen.”

Tom Page, director of Latin America for UPS Supply Chain Solutions, called Latin America the “last frontier” for many companies and said Miami provides the intellectual expertise those companies need. However, he also noted that from a logistics standpoint, Latin America is not an inexpensive region.

“Before you did not move products long distance. Now the supply chain has become significantly more complex,” he said. “The supply chain has also become an important part of any corporation’s success.”

Executives from the Port of Miami and Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades noted that Asia is becoming an increasingly important factor in South Florida’s trade. Chris Mangos, the manager of the marketing division at Miami International Airport, noted that increasing volumes of air cargo are focused on that region, as well.

He said overall cargo with Asia is up 18 percent, led by a 78 percent jump with Hong Kong.

“We have to determine where does the best opportunity lie and whose door should we be knocking on,” he said.