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by Alicia Rudnicki, Editor, The IRTA Report
Join us this June for the Annual Conference of IRTA, Reefer Transpo 2000 at the newly renovated Hyatt Regency in the heart of downtown Baltimore. The convention will begin Thursday, June 22. It will offer a flexible schedule providing plenty of time for networking as well as sightseeing.
Located on the colorful Inner Harbor of Chesapeake Bay, the Hyatt Regency is within walking distance of some of Baltimore's most popular places to visit-the Maryland Science Center and Planetarium, the National Aquarium, Oriole Park at Camden Yards and the Harborplace. So don't forget your walking shoes.
A special feature of this year's annual meeting will be the less formal breakout sessions to be held Thursday and Friday. These sessions will offer participants a chance to pursue a wide variety of interests in smaller groups.
IRTA is a diverse association. It comprises well over 300 members from the United States and around the world. The annual meeting provides an opportunity for you to network with a comprehensive group of refrigerated transportation executives, logistics providers, shippers, U.S. government officials, transportation lawyers and others involved in domestic and global trade.
While 88% of IRTA's members are based in the U.S. and Canada, we encourage the global growth of our organization. Based on a breakdown by continent, at present, 1% of our members live in Asia, 1% in South America and 10% in Europe. The majority of our North American members live along the East and West coasts.
Cosmopolitan Site
Spread out around a natural harbor near the end of the northern arm of the Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore has been an important East Coast port since the 1700's. The construction of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in the mid-1800s further secured the city's role as a transportation hub.
Nowadays, Baltimore is also one of the major tourist attractions in the mid-Atlantic region with its cosmopolitan population yet village-like atmosphere. IRTA's website (www.irta.org) offers links to a wide variety of information about the city.
IRTA on the Web
Information about IRTA's discounted room rates and airfare are also available at www.irta.org. The association's website also offers handy electronic registration. IRTA members can save $50 on their registration fees by going directly to www.irta.org/members-only. If you don't have access to the Internet or if you just prefer to receive information by telephone just call us toll free at (800) 996-3233.
One last thought: the Annual Membership meeting is usually short and sweet, but is an important event because it is the time when results are announced concerning the election of association directors. This year, the meeting will be held Thursday, June 22 at 4:30 PM. Don't miss it.
by Robert C. Mirone
I want to start this letter on a social note of congratulations to a number of members who have experienced positive changes in their lives. First, did you know that the family of IRTA Treasurer George Proios expanded in September. George is the father of four-month-old Constantine George Proios. On a less happy note, George recently suffered a severely broken leg while throwing out the garbage. His recovery is proceeding, but as of press time, he is still hobbling.
A New Last Name
Best wishes to our fellow member and director, Monica Fekete, who was married on December 18. Her new last name is Markovitch, so please note that in your membership directory. Mrs. Markovitch, in her capacity as chair of the Law and Legislation Committee, asks members for their ideas on issues that they wish to see addressed. If you would like to volunteer for the committee, Monica would like to hear from you. You can reach her at Brown, Sims, Wise & White, 2000 Post Oak Boulevard, Suite 2100, Houston, TX 77056.
New Jobs
Have you been promoted or have you moved to a different job you'd like us all to know about. Please take note of our new feature in this issue titled "People on the Move." It reports on the recent promotion of one of our directors, Barbara Pratt, and an upward move by member Marjorie Dale. Congratulations to Barbara and Marjorie on their new positions. Barbara is now general manager of reefer operations and marketing for Maersk-Sealand. Meanwhile, Marjorie has left the Canaveral Port Authority to become marketing manager for the Port of Pensacola.
New Officers, New Convention
Terms of office expire for seven of our association's board members this June. If you haven't already received your election ballot it should be arriving soon. IRTA Executive Director Douglas Ravnholdt asks that you return your ballot as soon as possible and to return your proxy form as well if you wish to have a proxy assigned. If you have a nominee for director who is not listed on the ballot, there is a space for write-in votes.
The ballots will be counted by the nominating and election committee. Results will be announced this June at the Annual Conference of IRTA, Reefer Transpo 2000.
Speaking of the convention, we are changing the format so that the convention hours will be shorter. Instead of holding only general panel presentations, there will be a number of smaller breakout sessions directed at specific topics. Thus, those who are interested in an in-depth look at a particular topic will be able to gather with those who also want to focus on the subject.
A Renewed Contract
On January 18, the IRTA Board of Directors voted unanimously to renew the association's management service contract with Milestone Presentations. We did this in view of the company's excellent management of last year's convention in Seattle.
Finally, I would like to close by reminding you that we continue to search for articles and press releases of interest to our membership. Please feel free to submit articles to Executive Director Douglas Ravnholdt and IRTA Report Editor Alicia Rudnicki by e-mail (irtamail@aol.com) or regular mail (The IRTA Report, 4255 South Buckley Road, Suite 118, Aurora, C0 80013).
by Addie Stanley, Port of Corpus Christi
Construction of the Port of Corpus Christi's $10 million on-dock refrigerated distribution center in Corpus Christi, Texas, is well underway. The facility is scheduled to open this August.
The warehouse is being financed by the port but will be leased to, managed and operated by a private company-Berkshire Cold Storage-that already operates a facility in the port of Savannah, Georgia, and other coldstores in the Midwest.
The on-dock warehouse, which can accommodate both chilled and frozen products, features three major rooms. One large 6,000 pallet room is exclusively for frozen products. The other chill rooms each have the capacity to handle 2,600 pallets. These rooms may be converted to freezer space, and blast freeze and humidity control capabilities are available.
The area surrounding the cold chambers will also be temperature controlled and can be used for USDA inspection as well as cross docking operation. There are 11 doors for trucks with access to Interstate Highway 37 and State Highway 18l. In addition, the center is served by the Union Pacific, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and the Tex-Mex railroads.
An Ideal Location
Ed Althemus, director of trade development for the port, said that Corpus Christi is an ideal location to serve customers in the central and western United States and in northern Mexico. Althemus also noted that the cost to customers is better than at ports on the West and East coasts.
From the time a vessel arrives at Corpus Christi, Althemus said, until its goods are loaded into trucks or railcars (including cold storage free time) the total cost is about one-third less when compared to West Coast ports and about one-half less than at East Coast ports.
Althemus said that inland trucking rates from the port are competitive with those of Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City and Denver. For example, he said, trucking costs for the Kansas City markets are less than one-half that for West Coast ports and almost one-half that of East Coast ports.
Preparing for Global Growth
Consequently, Althemus said, the port has entered into discussions with a major reefer carrier to establish weekly reefer liner services to and from Central America and Mexico, which will be extended to northern Europe and the United Kingdom. In line with Corpus Christi's slogan-"The 21st century will move through us"-Althemus said the port is positioning itself for the growth of global trade.
In addition to its interest in Central America and Mexico, the port has targeted refrigerated cargo in parcel services from the growing markets of South Africa and the traditional markets of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and New Zealand. Althemus said that Corpus Christi could supplement the existing parcel services to the East Coast and serve the western U.S. markets with a rapid truck or rail land bridge.
On the export side, the port is targeting Texas citrus, general U.S. meat exports and products from the Pacific Northwest and the U.S. West Coast. These would travel primarily to northern Europe and the Baltic region, but also to South and Central America.
Corpus Christi's proximity to Mexico offers the opportunity to combine Mexican and U.S. exports to Europe.
On some of these projects, the port has been working with Palle B. Mathiesen of Mathiesen Maritime Services, Long Beach, California, a company specializing in refrigerated cargo.
by J.M. Rammel, Chairman & CEO, International Air Filtration
The most common question my company received at the recent Produce Marketing Association (PMA) Show in Atlanta was how to cut spoilage of perishables. Whether the person we spoke with was a producer, distributor or retailer, the question remained the same. That's because up to 30 percent of produce inventory spoils somewhere along the distribution chain.
There are five environmental problems to control in handling produce-temperature, humidity, bacteria, ethylene gas and particle contaminants. While most produce specialists do a decent job on temperature and humidity control in their cold storage facilities, they tend to struggle with the last three problems.
Bacteria can take a heavy toll on produce, especially in mixed storage situations. The growth of mold and fungi, particularly botrytis, not only causes shrinkage but also cross contamination of odors. Combating this problem requires careful use of micro-bacterial control techniques with radiation in the air cleaning process.
Combating Ethylene
Removal of ethylene gas from the cooler is equally important. Ethylene can damage produce even at levels as low as .5 to 1 parts per million. Whether or not a particular fruit or vegetable emits ethylene, it is still susceptible to damage from the gas. For example, although flowers emit no ethylene, they are sensitive to any level of exposure to it.
Running the ambient air in the cooler through air cleaning equipment (scrubbers) is an important component in the cleaning process. Merely distributing baggies filled with ethylene oxidizing media around the storage facility will provide only a localized effect. But certain precautions can have a major, positive impact.
First, ripening rooms should be located away from cold storage areas. Second, ripening rooms should use as little ethylene as possible. Third, the use of engine-driven equipment should be avoided in cold storage areas because the exhaust can produce ethylene. Finally, it is also effective to control the cold storage area ventilation.
Scrubbers Highly Effective
Installation of air scrubbers can also cut spoilage due to ethylene. During tests of International Air Filtration's scrubber-the Always Fresh Environment Control System-the University of California at Davis concluded that potassium permanganate-impregnated zeolite, along with proper air movement, is highly successful in capturing ethylene. UC Davis discovered that 50 percent of the ethylene within an enclosed facility was captured in one pass, and all was captured within 90 minutes.
The impregnated zeolite has been available for many years in loose, granular form. More recently, solid "brick" media filters have been developed that offer more cleanliness, double the media per square footage and less danger during disposal.
Scrubbers can also cut spoilage by reducing particulate from the ambient air in the storage area. This minimizes bacterial and odor contamination. Bacteria travel through the air on particulate, so you must capture the dirt to kill the bacteria and stop cross-contamination of odors.
Logistics and Supply Chain Management is now offering an Internet site at www.logistics.guide@about.com. The site focuses on topics surrounding all facets of the company's services. It includes a full online Java chatroom and newsletter in addition to hundreds of topical links organized by subject. In addition, new logistics features are posted weekly.
USDA Responds to China Pinewood Rule
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued interim procedures for exporters to comply with a Chinese regulation for keeping wood-eating pests out of China. The measures are designed to comply with China's requirement, which became effective January 1, that China-bound shipments containing packing materials made of conifer wood be certified as being free of the pinewood nematode.
The pinewood nematode infests cone-bearing trees, causing them to wilt and die. China says U.S. shipments have been responsible for some recent infestations there, a contention that the United States has not disputed. The Chinese government has said it will give U.S. shippers a 60-day period of "flexibility" in following the rule before strict enforcement begins.
The rule requires exporters to present a signed statement on their letterhead to Chinese customs. The statement must say that the shipment either contains no wood packing materials, no conifer packing materials or that the conifer packing materials have been heat-treated. For more information about the rule, contact the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (Aphis) at
(301) 734-8537 or on the web (www.aphis.usda.gov/).
by Kris Morlan, KES Science & Technology
When you cut a living, growing flower and stick it in a vase, it doesn't know it's dead. You can attribute this to a plant being a brainless, inferior life form or you can more positively say it's because of a flower's zest for life and the ability to transcend the mortal constraints of other organic beings. Either way, the fact remains; the flower continues to carry out the chemical processes it did when it was living in the ground.
Good for the flower, you say! That's the way to keep on keeping on. But the consequences of doing so are not so beneficial to the floral retailer or the consumer. As a result of carrying out these chemical processes, flowers transpire, which means they give off water that is not naturally replaced if the roots are not snug in the ground.
Experienced floral handlers can help flowers keep their vitality and stay "alive" by providing them with the right storage conditions-specifically humidity.
What Is Relative Humidity?
Relative humidity (RH) is the ratio of the actual amount of moisture in an atmosphere to the amount of moisture it can hold. So an RH of 100% means that the air can hold no more water (such as on a rainy day).
Air likes to have moisture in it. So when the air in a storage room has a low RH, it will extract moisture from flowers that are stored there. This is where it becomes important to keep a high RH inside of storage rooms. Here's an example. A room that has an RH of 45-55% when it's empty will have an RH of 85-90% two hours after product is added. Where did the moisture come from? The product.
No matter what kind of cooler you have, or how new it is, these refrigerated environments take water directly out of flowers. Most coolers are great at keeping temperatures at optimum levels for flowers but in the process create deadly low RH levels. In refrigerated storage rooms, warehouses and containers such as coolers, the average RH is about 45%. That's before plants are added to the environment. Since flowers are made of about 98% water, an RH of 45% is like a dry sponge that absorbs as much water from the flower as it can. That is why it is essential to add humidity to your coolers. The closer the RH percentage is to the water content of the plant, the less water will be lost.
Too Much of a Good Thing
A common mistake when humidifying is using a misting system that produces large droplets instead of a fine fog. When large water droplets are used for humidification, flowers are bound to get wet. The Society of American Florists advises that "wet flowers and foliage will lead to more disease problems. The trick is to maximize humidity but keep the products dry."
A good example of this problem can be found in the popular orchid. If orchids are misted they will turn brown and rot. The water that builds up on the surface area of the flowers promotes disease by giving legless bacteria, fungi and molds a waterpath through which to spread. Sadly, orchids are not alone. Many other flowers risk the same fate.
Older humidifying systems, like air & water systems and others, are sometimes used to add moisture to an environment but the constant addition of water particles present with these systems takes its toll on the flowers. Taking measures to raise humidity without getting them wet will save money in the long run.
New patented technology, owned by KES Science & Technology, has the ability to humidify without getting floral products wet. The ultrafine, five-micron droplets become water vapor so fast they go right into the air, raising the relative humidity. Since the fog is so fine, humidity can be constantly added to the cooler.
Other methods require several minute intervals between "humidity injections" that allow the cooling systems to take the moisture right out of the air. Don't let that happen. Constant dehydration drastically reduces shelf life and home life, which leads to unhappy clients and customers.
For more information on humidifying systems by KES Science & Technology, contact KES in Kennesaw, Georgia at (800) 627-4913 or on the web at www.kesmist.com
Reprinted with permission from The Journal of Commerce
A joint venture involving Sembcorp Logistics of Singapore plans to set up an 18-city cold storage and transport network in India, according to company executives who made the announcement last November.
The venture plans to use snow carbon dioxide, a relatively new refrigerant used to store, package and transport perishable food, pharmaceutical and agricultural products, said H.R. Srinivasan, managing director of Sembawang Shriram Integrated Logistics Pvt. Ltd., a third-party logistics provider.
Sembcorp is already using snow carbon dioxide to transport ice cream from Malaysia to Singapore, company sources said. It wants to extend use of the technology to India, where lack of an efficient cold storage and transport network results in up to 30 percent losses in transportation of perishable products.
A company spokesman said snow carbon dioxide has several advantages over other cooling mediums such as block dry ice, coolant jelly and refrigerated containers.
Those advantages include the fact that although the initial cost of snow carbon dioxide technology is high, it costs less to use. Second, Sembcorp says that consolidation of different food products for transportation at their own cooling temperatures is possible. Third, snow carbon dioxide can be stored efficiently and used at different temperatures. Also, the company notes that cooling is immediate and uniform.
Perishable products are packed in special containers that have lids injected with snow carbon dioxide. These containers can be transported in general-purpose trucks that must carry a coolant injector.
Reprinted with permission from The Journal of Commerce
When the first-ever containerload of American apples landed in India this summer, they were probably all eaten in the port city of Mumbai itself. The reason: India's poor logistics system for perishable products makes it nearly impossible to get fresh foods to the country's interior.
But statements from government officials and industry analysts at a conference last fall suggest that the situation is about to improve significantly. The conference on India's cold-chain infrastructure was organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Industry and the Maryland-based International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses.
A recent report from the U.S. Foreign Agriculture Service noted that traders in New Delhi, about 900 miles from Mumbai, want to explore the market for American apples, which, along with other products, have been arriving since India lifted import curbs in April. But good near-term opportunities exist only in the port cities of Mumbai, Chennai (Madras) and Calcutta.
Middle Class Spurs Growth
Keith Sunderlal, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Industry's director for South Asia, said food imports will be among the factors that will spur development of cold-chain logistics in the country.
The logistics system for perishables also is expected to get a boost from an expanding middle class. Arvind Singhal, managing director of KSA Technolopak, said processed food consumption by the middle class will rise rapidly and force expansion of the cold-chain system.
Development of the cold chain is coming at a critical time. India is the largest producer of fruits with annual output of 40 million metric tons, and the second-largest producer of vegetables, with output of 73 million tons. Barely 2% of this production is processed. The lack of a cold-chain infrastructure means that post-harvest losses range from 8% to 37%.
India has only about 3,400 refrigerated warehouses with capacity of 10 million tons. As much as 80% of these warehouses are used to store only potatoes.
Agriculture Secretary Bhaskar Barua said he sees great potential for Indian exports of fruit, vegetables and cut flowers if post-harvest losses can be reduced. "A cold-chain system is indispensable in India," Barua said. "There is increasing demand for multipurpose storage."
Fiscal and Policy Incentives
A committee of experts created by the Ministry of Agriculture has suggested steps for modernization of existing warehouses and the addition of new capacity, Barua said.
Barua and Food Processing Secretary P.S. Bhatnagar said the government is offering several fiscal and policy incentives to drive the development of a cold chain in the country. Bhatnagar said the government approved financial assistance for 35 refrigerated warehouses in the past year.
The government expects much of the investment to come from private enterprise. Participation at the conference last fall suggested there is domestic and even some foreign interest.
"The cold-storage business in India is a growing market," said Hans van Leeuwen, head of the Dutch Frigolanda has signed a joint venture with a local company for a refrigerated warehouse in Bangalore, and is looking to build similar warehouses in other parts of the country.
Reprinted with permission from The Journal of Commerce
As temperate as Mexico may be, it still cannot grow a potato that meets the high standards of McDonald's. That was the result of a study by McDonald's Sistemas de Mexico, the Mexican subsidiary of the McDonald's Corp.
So at least in the near future, the frozen potatoes destined for McDonald's famous fries in Mexico will have to come from the western United States and Canada. That creates a need for logistics services or what might be called a Golden Arches supply chain.
Frozen potatoes are the only large-volume item that McDonald's imports in Mexico, said Alejandro Zamudio, who oversees purchasing and logistics at McDonald's Sistemas de Mexico. Nevertheless, freight and customs clearance is the responsibility of suppliers.
Once the product crosses the border by truck into Mexico, the goods are destined for two distribution centers-one in Mexico City and the other all the way to the other end of the country in Cancun.
170 Restaurants in 30 Cities
From the two locations, McDonald's consolidates loads from the United States and Canada as well as from Mexico, and sends trucks to more than 170 restaurants in 30 cities across Mexico. Distribution is handled with three-section trailers: one section for frozen food, one for refrigerated goods and one for dry goods.
While a typical haul from distribution center to restaurant is about 100 miles in the United States, the trip can exceed 1,000 miles in Mexico.
"There is still not enough restaurant density in Mexico to maintain more distribution centers," Zamudio said.
The centers are operated by Martin-Brower de Mexico, the Mexican subsidiary of McDonald's largest distribution center operator in the United States. The location of the centers was dictated by demand, Zamudio said.
As with the total fast-food market in Mexico, about 40% of McDonald's total demand is centered in Mexico City. Cancun was chosen because of the large number of U.S. tourists in the resort city.
A Handshake Agreement
Zamudio said McDonald's operates with Martin-Brower under a handshake agreement and a strategic alliance, although McDonald's does not have any ownership of the center. The volume of traffic that McDonald's can offer Martin-Brower is enough of a guarantee for its suppliers.
The distribution center manages its own fleet of trucks instead of relying on contract carriers. In Mexico, Zamudio said, such carriers often do not have standard-sized equipment, which is a key component of the quality offered by McDonald's.
"We try very hard to avoid contracting outside carriers," he said. "They do not have the same quality standards" as our distribution center fleets."There is little culture in Mexico for the handling of frozen goods," Zamudio said. He added that some carriers handle frozen goods, "but there are few of them."
J. Canavati & Co., Inc., a Landstar Logistics agency domiciled in Sugar Land, Texas, has announced a new temperature-controlled transportation service in for the NAFTA marketplace. It will support international shippers and receivers who need refrigerated service between Mexico, the western United States (California, Idaho, Oregon, Utah and Washington) and Vancouver, Canada. The service is on a direct, through-trailer, door-to-door basis over the ports of Laredo and Hidalgo, Texas.
Company President Jorge Canavati said the growth of temperature-controlled trade in this sector is "gargantuan" and that his firm feels "very privileged to have Transpormex, based in Queretaro, Mexico, as our carrier partner in this venture."
Do you have a joke or funny anecdote that you would like to share? Just pass it on to The IRTA Report by e-mail (irtamail @aol.com). Here are a few to pass around your office.
Definitions
Leisure time is that five or six hours when you sleep at night. - George Allen
A baby sitter is a teenager acting like an adult while the adults are out acting like teenagers."
The Convention
Bill, Jim and Scott were at a convention together and were sharing a large suite on the top of a 75-story skyscraper. After a long day of meetings, they were shocked to hear that the elevators in their hotel were broken and they would have to climb 75 flights of stairs to get to their room.
Bill said to Jim and Scott, "Let's break the monotony of this unpleasant task by concentrating on something interesting. I'll tell jokes for 25 flights, Jim can sing songs for the next 25 flights and Scott can tell sad stories for the rest of the way."
At the 26th floor, Bill stopped telling jokes and Jim began to sing. At the 51st floor Jim stopped singing and Scott began to tell sad stories.
"I will tell my saddest story first," he said. "I left the room key in the car!"
Fax Power
If the pen is mightier than the sword, and a picture is worth a thousand words, how dangerous is a fax?
Source: Joke of the Day (www.joker.org)
Food for Thought
Two carrots were walking down the road when a huge transfer truck slammed into one of them. An ambulance rushed the little fellow off to the hospital where he immediately went into surgery. Finally the doctor emerged and approached the carrot who had been anxiously awaiting news.
"Tell me Doc, how is he?"
The doctor replied, "I've got some good news and some bad news. The good news is he's going to live. The bad news is we're pretty sure he's going to be a vegetable for the rest of his life.
Get ready to update your IRTA Membership Directory with the following information about members who have recently changed positions in their companies or moved to new workplaces. Congratulations to our members on the move!
After 10 years with the Canaveral Port Authority in Florida, IRTA member Marjorie Dale has accepted a position as Marketing Manager with the Port of Pensacola. Marjorie may be reached at Port of Pensacola, P.O. Box 889, Pensacola, FL 32594-0889. She can also be reached by phone (850-435-1870), fax (850-435-1879) and e-mail (mdale@ci.pensacola.fl.us).
IRTA Board Member Barbara Pratt reports that she is "finally beginning to see the light" after being snowed under with work during the Maersk-Sealand merger. Barbara's new position is General Manager, Reefer Operations and Marketing, Maersk-Sealand, Refrigerated Services, Operations and Marketing-North America. She can be reached by phone (973-514-5703), fax (973-514-5288) and e-mail (namrefops@maersk.com). Barbara's new home address is Giralda Farms, Madison Avenue, PO Box 880, Madison, New Jersey 07940-0880.