New Shipping Service from Mexico Coming to Port of Philadelphia
The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority (PRPA) and Holt Logistics Corp. have secured a new shipping service that will establish a direct link between Mexico and Philadelphia.
SeaLand ‘s new "Atlantico" service will call the Mexican ports of Veracruz and Altamira before making a direct connection to the Packer Avenue Terminal in Philadelphia. SeaLand is the Maersk Group’s intra-Americas regional ocean carrier.
"This new service is the culmination of nearly two years of hard work and negotiations," said Thomas J. Holt Jr. of Holt Logistics Corp. "Packer Avenue offers superior refrigerated cargo service, which will create efficiencies and provide greater scale to Mexico’s expanding perishable goods business. Additionally, this new service will have significant environmental benefits as the vast majority of this cargo currently moves thousands of miles via tractor trailer. On behalf of Holt Logistics Corp, we thank the many individuals who helped to develop this important trade line for our customers here and abroad."
The SeaLand Atlantico service will begin weekly calls to Packer Avenue on February 3, offering an alternative to ground transportation for trade between the Gulf of Mexico and Eastern United States that it believes should particularly benefit producers and exporters of perishables. Among the targeted commodities are avocados, lemons, tomatoes and commercial cargo.
"We're very excited about this new weekly service with Mexico," said PRPA Chairman Jerry Sweeney. "It's another example of the kinds of things that happen at the port when you have great public-private partnerships in place. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is proud to invest in its marine terminals and provide business support, which assists aggressive, savvy terminal operators like the Holts in bringing home a great piece of business like this one."
The port rotation will be Veracruz – Altamira – Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://news.sealand.com/atlantico.
The 106-acre Packer Avenue facility is owned by the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority and operated under a lease agreement by Holt Logistics.