ICS Logistics plans to open tropical fruit trade route to Jacksonville - Jacksonville Business Journal:

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A Jacksonville logistics company is workinh with the Jacksonville Port Authority to find a timelier andcheaper way. By creatinf a trade lane between Jacksonville and South and CentralAmerica countries, such as Colombia and Costas Rica, plans to change the way fruit and vegetableas come to the area. “It woulrd break a paradigm,” said Brenda ICS Logistics director of saleswand marketing. If its plans succeed, the compangy could bring in 5,000 tons of fruit and vegetables per The focus would be on pineapples and bananasx because they have a longershelfc life.
It would take two to five days less for pineapplews from Costa Rica to make their way to the West Coast than if they came throug hthe Northeast, said Terry Brown, the company’z president. ICS has worked for abouty two years to builfd connections with SouthAmerican farmers. It is now in talks with a majo r distributor interested in transportin g the goods from the farms to the Port of Brown said. Having shipsa call on Jacksonville with goods for Southeast markets makeas sense since about 25 percent to 30 percen t of the produce delivered to Philadelphiaand Del.
, has to trave by truck down to customers in the said Raul Alfonso, director of containerf cargo in the authority’s trade development and marketingh department. “Whoever is paying for imported fruit and vegetables is paying a lot fortransportationb costs,” he said. (Nasdaq: WINN), (Nasdaq: and (NYSE: WMT) have expressed interest in the proposeedtrade lane, Alfonso said. Aboutr 50 million customers can be reachef withina six-hour drive of Jacksonville, and an additional 10 million customers can be reached within an eight-hour drive.