By Karen E. Thueremr, AJOTThe Delaware River might be best known for George Washington’s crossing one frigid December day in 1776, but today the river is booming with perishables imported from South and Central America to the Port of Philadelphia, the Port of South Jersey, and Delaware’s Port of Wilmington. Cory Rosenbusch, senior director of policy and programs for the International Refrigerated Transportation Association (IRTA) identifies key factors responsible for this success. First, Delaware River ports are located near large population centers from Washington, DC to Boston; second, East-West, South-North interstate road networks are superb; and third, the area is dotted with multiple terminals and facilities that specialize in handling this delicate commodity.
“Most important, shipping companies offloading their product have several options from which to choose in the Delaware River,” Rosenbusch states. “It’s the multiple choice that keeps prices competitive in that region. There are simply a lot of facilities that can handle the vast number of product coming in.” Especially attractive are the multitude of dockside and nearby refrigerated warehouses that can immediately store product before distribution. “Plus, perishables shippers do not have to worry about traffic jams and congestion at the ports servicing the Delaware River like in the New York/New Jersey area,” he adds. “Congestion might delay product from being cleared and delivered by two or three days. This has a dramatic impact on the shelf life of perishables.” Port of WilmingtonTaking these factors into consideration, the IRTA recently recognized Port of Delaware Executive Director Gene Bailey as its “man of the year.” IRTA cited many reasons for the award: Bailey’s superb understanding of the challenges and opportunities involved in transporting refrigerated products and steps he has taken to expand business at a port while facing difficult conditions. The Port of Wilmington is the US’s leading gateway for the entry of fresh fruit and juice concentrates. It operates as the world’s largest banana port and owns and operates North America’s largest on-dock cold-storage complex at 800,000 square feet. In addition, on site is 150,000 square feet of dry warehouse space, 16,000 square feet of controlled temperature space, as well as a fumigation facility for Chilean fruit. “We are the only port in the nation with this amount of controlled atmosphere space,” states to John Haroldson, the port’s manager of International Trade. The latest big news is the unveiling in March of Dole Food Company’s new $16 million warehouse at the port. The 92,267 square foot warehouse, located on 5.5 acres near the Dole container yard, will increase Dole’s refrigerated warehouse space at the port by 57%. Dole signed a 15-year lease for the expanded property. “We are very pleased with the addition of Warehouse H to our operations in Wilmington,” says Richard J. Dahl, president and COO of Dole. “The new warehouse will enable us to expand our local operations, improve refrigerated space consolidation and utilization, and make federal inspections of fruit cargo more efficient, timely and cost effective. In addition, a new office space will provide Dole’s quality control group an excellent work environment.” Port officials regard the long-term lease as testimony to Dole’s satisfaction with its service at the Port of Wilmington. Dole, the world’s largest fruit company, discharged nearly one million tons of tropical and Chilean fruit in Wilmington last year via its six days a week shipments of bananas and tropical fruit at the port. That, coupled with Chiquita Fresh North America, which also makes vessels calls six days a week at the port, make the Port of Wilmington the world’s largest banana port and the nation’s leading gateway for fresh fruit imports. In 2004, the port handled 1,284 sh