Goods Exports from Latin America and the Caribbean Increase 20% in 2022, but Growth is Down from Previous Year

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) estimates the growth in the value of regional exports at 20% in 2022, driven by a 14% rise in prices and an expansion of 6% in exported volumes. These are the figures reported by the United Nations organization in its latest flagship annual report published today in a press release. In the report International Trade Outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean 2022, the Commission also indicates that the value of regional goods imports increased by 24%. Like exports, the bulk of the increase in regional import value is attribu…

Preliminary data for 2014: world container trade and throughput; continuing decline in the dynamism of Latin America and the Caribbean

The latest Maritime & Logistics Bulletin from the Infrastructure and Services Unit delivers preliminary data for 2014 on the evolution of world container trade and port throughput in the region. According to preliminary data from a sample of 70% of total port movements in the region, Latin America and the Caribbean experienced a 3% growth in container movements during 2014 in comparison with the previous year. In 2013, the increase was 3.6% for the same sample, which points to a further decrease in the regional dynamism, already on a steady decline since 2010.…

Energy Efficiency Strategies Are Urgently Needed to Improve Competitiveness of Region's Ports

More than 95% of South America's exports is moved through ports. Therefore, the energy consumption of the port infrastructure is increasingly relevant to the competitiveness and sustainability of infrastructure services and the activities of the transport and logistics sector. This point is emphasized in a report by ECLAC's Natural Resources and Infrastructure Division that was published recently in the latest edition of the FAL Bulletin on Facilitation of Transport and Trade in Latin America. According to the study, the traffic of refrigerated containers with perishable goods in Sou…

Nicaragua presentará en la CEPAL proyecto de canal interoceánico

El Ministro Secretario de la Presidencia para Políticas Nacionales de Nicaragua, Paul Oquist Kelley, visitará el viernes 24 de abril la sede de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL) en Santiago, Chile, para ofrecer una conferencia magistral sobre el proyecto del canal interoceánico que se construye en la nación centroamericana. La conferencia titulada “El Gran Canal de Nicaragua y el futuro desarrollo del país” se dictará a las 10:30 horas. El Ministro Oquist será recibido por Alicia Bárcena, Secretaria Ejecutiva de la CEPAL, quien le dará la bienvenida en nombre …

La industria de cruceros turísticos y su impacto en América del Sur

La industria mundial de los cruceros turísticos registra un crecimiento sostenido por largo tiempo, su expectativa para los próximos años es alentadora y se sustenta en una atractiva rentabilidad y reducción de costos mediante la utilización de naves cada vez mayores, que están haciendo accesible esta nueva forma de hacer turismo a un segmento de personas cada vez más numeroso.Las rutas de Sudamérica, visitadas por una amplia variedad de armadores, han sido un reflejo del crecimiento de esta industria a nivel mundial, siendo necesario aprovechar esta oportunidad para brindar servicios que dema…

Trade between Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Central American Common Market (CACM) countries: the role to play for ports and shipping services

Abstract Trade between the Central American Common Market (CACM) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is very low. Only 0.2% of the two groups' trade is between them. A possible explanation for this might be a supposed lack of adequate transport services. This report analyzes if there exists a potential to promote inter-subregional trade by improving transport services. It is found that in fact there does not exist a lack of direct services. 17% of services that call in one of the subregions also call in the other. In addition, due to the increase in transshipment services, a…

Inland navigation and a more sustainable use of natural resources: networks, challenges and opportunities for South America

En esta edición del Boletín FAL se examinan una serie de desafíos y posibilidades relativos al desarrollo de las vías de navegación interior en América del Sur. El examen se centra principalmente en los retos normativos y de financiamiento de las actividades encaminadas a desarrollar las vías de navegación interior de modo que lleguen a desempeñar un papel fundamental en un sistema de transporte más sostenible en el futuro.…

Concentration in liner shipping: its causes and impacts for ports and shipping services in developing regions

Abstract Concentration in liner shipping means that relatively larger shipping companies are increasing their market share at the expense of the remaining smaller players. Although this process is not new, it has gained strength and is particularly affecting ports and shipping services in developing regions. Because trade is growing as a proportion of world GDP, governments and international organizations attach an increasing priority to improving ports and shipping services. This leads to deregulation, which, together with technological advances, increases the incentives for shipping companie…

Towards a demand model for maritime passenger transportation in the Caribbean: a regional study of passenger ferry services

In this paper, the main factors that influence the demand for maritime passenger transportation in the Caribbean were studied. While maritime studies in the Caribbean have focused on infrastructural and operational systems for intensifying trade and movement of goods, there is little information on the movement of persons within the region and its potential to encourage further integration and sustainable development. Data to inform studies and policies in this area are particularly difficult to source. For this study, an unbalanced data set for the 2000-2014 period in 15 destinations with a f…

Bridging infrastructural gaps in Central America: prospects and potential for maritime transport

Abstract Central America needs a regular, flexible, safe and affordable infrastructure and transport services in order to prevail over the existing bottlenecks and constrained intra-regional trade patterns. This need is widely recognized to achieve a sustained economic development, both national and regionally. Today, Central American countries face the following problems in their transport systems: lack of sufficient transport infrastructure and high transport costs. These problems have led to a decline in the competitiveness of the regional economies and sluggish economic growth …

The potential for hub ports on the Pacific coast of South America

The external trade of a country is closely linked with its geographical location, with the transport services that cover the distance to markets, and the ports through which that trade passes. Recent advances in maritime transport, the growing international economic integration, and the privatization of ports in the countries on the Pacific coast of South America have given rise to expectations that ports could be developed that concentrate both domestic cargo and that of neighbouring countries for its subsequent redistribution: what are known as hub ports . The main conclusion of t…

Report on maritime transport and the environment for Latin America

This report presents information on the environmental impact of vessels during their general operation. It is shown that the emissions from vessels can substantially contribute to local air quality problems over land and also impact the climate change process. Up to now, the contribution of the maritime sector to air quality problems in Latin American and Caribbean coastal cities has received little or no attention. Studies for the United States and Europe show that the contribution of this sector may however be significant. Given the persistence of air quality problems in Latin America, it ap…

Webinar Smart Road and Rail Solutions for transport connectivity

Joint activity under UNDA project: Transport and trade connectivity in the age of pandemics…

SIDS 4: Now or never for small island survival

Main challenges for cruise industry in the Caribbean

Special Session at the Conference Cartagena dialogue on “Cruise, Ports and Cities”…

Primer Foro Latinoamericano de Infraestructura

El pasado 26 y 27 de junio del 2018, se desarrolló en Santiago el Primer Foro Latinoamericano de Infraestructura que contó con la presencia de los ministros de Obras Públicas de Chile, Juan Andrés Fontaine, de Paraguay, Ramón Jiménez, de los ministros de Chile de Vivienda, Cristián Monckeberg y de Transporte y Telecomunicaciones. Sra. Gloria Hutt, además de autoridades, académicos y empresarios vinculados al sector, funcionarios del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID) y de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL). El evento fue organizado por el Consejo de Políticas d…