Posts Tagged “Port of Gulfport”
If you haul bananas or pineapples from the Gulf of Mexico, Chiquita Brands International is once again moving. Over the years they have set up shop in New Orleans twice, where they are currently located. But within weeks they’ll be moving to Gulfport Mississippi for the second time.
Two years after returning to The Big Easy, Chiquita plans to leave New Orleans.
Based in Orlando, FL, Chiquita U.S. Corp., announced July 5th in a press release its plans to relocate its Gulf of Mexico operations from the Port of New Orleans to the Port of Gulfport.
The move is scheduled for August, according to the release.
“We are pleased to return our port operations to Gulfport where our Chiquita ripening and distribution facilities are located,” Andrew Biles, Chiquita’s president and CEO, said in the release. “We believe that Gulfport is optimally situated to service our customers most efficiently with both north and southbound vessel services.”
In May, rumors circulated “around the docks” at the New Orleans port that Chiquita Brands International, a part of Chiquita U.S. Corp., was considering moving its cargo business.
In May 2014, Chiquita announced plans to return to New Orleans after relocating operations to Gulfport, Miss., in the mid-1970s.
Chiquita, which then did business as United Brands, had imported bananas and other fruit for more than 70 years in New Orleans.
As part of the deal to return to The Crescent City, the port agreed to invest $2.2 million in improvements at a port-owned distribution and ripening facility to be leased to Chiquita as well as fund $2 million in refrigerated-container electrical infrastructure improvements and rehabilitate a container freight warehouse.
Chiquita distributes and markets fresh bananas and pineapples from the Gulf.
Chiquita Brands International Inc. is an American producer and distributor, not only of bananas, but other produce. The company operates under a number of subsidiary brand names, including the flagship Chiquita brand and Fresh Express salads. Chiquita is the leading distributor of bananas in the United States.
Chiquita Brands International Inc. is still moving containers through the Port of Gulfport even after relocating its shipping operations to the Port of New Orleans.
The (Biloxi, Miss.) Sun Herald reports congestion in New Orleans is keeping the Charlotte, N.C.-based Chiquita operating in the Mississippi port.
After a 40-year absence, Chiquita in October returned to the Port of New Orleans.
Chiquita had planned to end its containerized goods handling at Gulfport by December 31, but Gulfport tenant Crowley Maritime Corp. Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., was still shipping northbound Chiquita produce containers into the port, according to the Sun Herald.
Gulfport director said the two ports are working to “alleviate congestion issues at the port of New Orleans,” according to the report.
Chiquita’s transition to New Orleans remains on schedule and Chiquita was expected to continue moving some cargo through Gulfport while the New Orleans port makes improvements, a New Orleans port official said in the report.
For Chiquita, the New Orleans port planned to invest $2.2 million in improvements in refrigerated-container electrical infrastructure and at a distribution and ripening facility leased to Chiquita. Imported bananas provide huge volume from Chiquita throughout North America.
Chiquita Brands International Inc., is returning to the Port of New Orleans after a 40-year absence.
Based in Charlotte, N.C., Chiquita plans to relocate operations from Gulfport, Miss., to The Crescent City in early 2015. During the mid-1970s, Chiquita, which then did business as United Brands, transferred shipping operations from New Orleans to the Port of Gulfport after importing bananas and other fruit for more than 70 years in New Orleans.
Chiquita is forecast to ship 60,000-78,000 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) a year at the New Orleans port. The volume represents a 15% increase in the port’s current container volume. Chiquita plans to handle 30,000-39,000 TEUs of bananas and other fresh fruit at the port as well as export those same volumes of other outbound cargos.
Louisiana was in talks with Chiquita for a decade and to help reduce the port’s increased shipping and handling costs. The state of Louisiana plans to provide the banana giant $1.11 million-$1.45 million or $18.55 per TEU in yearly performance-based incentives.
The port is planning to invest $2.2 million in improvements at a port-owned distribution and ripening facility to be leased to Chiquita As part of the deal, the port also intends to fund $2 million in refrigerated-container electrical infrastructure improvements and rehabilitate a container freight warehouse, according to the release.