b'32American Journal ofTransportation ajot.com(PAINcontinued frombyotheremergingregions page 30)notably Asian economies. LAC to sustain GDP growthAccording to the IDB figures standsoutwiththepost- LACnationhaveinvested COVID-19economicsurge.only1.8%oftheGDPin LatinAmericaneconomiesrecentdecadesandlessthan provedtobehardyduringhalftheamountspentby thepandemicbutwhereassimilarlyplacedeconomies most economies were able toinAsia.TheIDBestimates capitalize on the pent up con- that the LAC needs to invest sumer demand coming out ofatleast3.12%ofGDPover theCOVIDlockdowns,thethe next 10 years to meet the gainswererelativelymodestSustainableDevelopment throughout the LAC.Goals (SDGs) established in TheInternationalBank2015bytheUnited Nations forReconstructionandGeneral Assembly. The lack Development/World Bank inof basic infrastructure weighs Aprilreleasedtheirannualdown economic performance LACreview,ThePromiseandbenefits.TheIDBesti-ofIntegration:Opportuni- matesthatjust40%ofthe tiesinaChangingGlobalLACshomeshaveinternet, Economy.Andwhiletheonly66%accesstomobile ReviewlaudedtheLACsbroadbandandevenmore ability to weather the COVIDfundamentally,50%ofthe years, Income and employ- region do not have access to ment have largely recoveredpotable water and safe sanita- Top Latin America Destination Countries for U.S. Exportsfromthepandemic,povertytion and 20% of the primary hasreceded,andmarketspaved road network is in poorTEUsremainguardedlyoptimisticcondition.ItisasGoldfajin aboutthenearfuturethenoted, a historical backlogCOUNTRY OF FINAL DESTINATION Jan-Dec 2022 Jan-Dec 2021 Diff %lack of GDP growth remainsof underfunded work to bringBRAZIL 227,994 270,519 -15.72a concern adding, Althoughthe LAC back into step with numerous global factors canthe global economy.COLOMBIA 202,410 182,175 11.11explain the very modest 2023And as the InternationalGUATEMALA 160,300 104,962 52.72growthrates,theforecastsBank for Reconstruction andHONDURAS 136,127 133,811 1.73goingforwardpredicttheDevelopment/WorldBank,PANAMA 132,547 90,151 47.03samelacklusterpaceofthepointsoutthereismoreto past two decades.answeringthecapitalneedsCHILE 87,140 129,331 -32.62Theimpactofthetepidfor infrastructure than deeperPERU 69,617 82,089 -15.19GDPgrowthismadealltheinstitutionalorgovernmen- COSTA RICA 61,187 76,203 -19.71starker, On average, the regiontalpocketsattractingFDIECUADOR 51,567 59,112 -12.76[LAC] has fully recovered its(ForeignDirectInvestment)ARGENTINA 51,242 58,653 -12.63lost growth of gross domesticispiggybackedontrad-product (GDP), although sinceingandtradeintensityhasOTHERS 121,312 146,434 -17.16COVID-19,growthisbelowlargely stagnated, and foreignTotal 1,301,443 1,333,439 -2.40that of all regions except war- directinvestment(FDI)to tornEasternEurope,whichmost countries has declined.LAConlyslightlyexceeds. To the point, the World Bankus-C Hina and THelaCGrowth forecasts for the LACDespite the strong head- Top Ports for U.S. Exports to Latin America (South & Central & Mexico)in 2023 have been steadilywindsmanypunditsthinkTEUsdowngraded over the past sixthereisastrongchancefor monthsto1.4percent.Forthe LAC to address the GDPUS PORT Jan-Dec 2022 Jan-Dec 2021 Diff %2024,thefigureis2.4per- growthcrisisandforgeaHOUSTON,TX 277,734 252,460 10.01cent,whichisexpectedtonewregionalidentity.ThePORT EVERGLADES,FL 148,635 159,273 -6.68remain in 2025. global fracas between the US and China has brought someMIAMI,FL 131,070 96,285 36.13i nvesTMenT andg rowTH benefits to the LACChinaSAVANNAH,GA 110,681 118,714 -6.77Thereisalwaysthelin- has emerged as South Amer- NEW ORLEANS,LA 82,210 84,266 -2.44geringquestionintheLACicaslargesttradingpartnerCHARLESTON,SC 65,064 82,698 -21.32ofwhyGDPgrowthhasntandsevenSouthAmericanNORFOLK,VA 57,878 69,546 -16.78matchedthepromisethatnationsarepartoftheBeltNEW YORK, NY 50,940 45,197 12.71comes with robust trade. Cer- and Road Initiative (BRI)a tainly, the volatility of exportmovethatlikelywouldntNEW YORK/NEWARK AREA, NEWARK, NEW JERSEY 44,523 62,907 -29.22commoditiesisafactorbuthavetranspiredwithoutthePHILADELPHIA,PA 35,429 26,126 35.61evenduringtheperiodsoffriction between the numberOTHERS 297,281 335,968 -11.52upwardswingsincommod- oneandnumbertwoeco- Total 1,301,443 1,333,439 -2.40ityprices,GDPgrowthhasnomic powers.rarelykeptpacenorcarriedChina is now the largest over to the ensuing years.trade partner in South Amer-Mosteconomistsbelieveica,largelybecauseovera thekeyfactorholdingGDPtwo decade (2000-2020) surgeTop Carriers for U.S. Exports to Latin America (South & Central & Mexico)growthdownintheLACisas trade between China andTEUsa chronic lack of investment.Latin America grew 26-fold Theneedtoaddresslackof(increasingfrom$12billionCARRIER Jan-Dec 2022 Jan-Dec 2021 Diff %investmentbothfromtheto$315billion),accordingMSC-MEDITERRANEAN SHIPPING COMPANY S A (MSCU) 230,820 194,478 18.69public and private sectors wasto US Foreign Affairs figures.A P MOLLER-MAERSK A/S (SEAU) 224,020 170,092 31.71addressedbytheIDBattheTherelationshipwithChinaHAPAG LLOYD A G (HLCU) 205,281 205,730 -0.22organizations annual meetinghas also contributed to LACsSEABOARD MARINE LTD (SMLU) 181,388 142,841 26.99held in Panama City in March.substantial debt problems. For IDBpresidentIlanGold- example, Ecuador owes ChinaCMA-CGM (CMDU) 99,005 102,164 -3.09fajin said, at the meeting Wenearly$5billionoraroundDOLE OCEAN CARGO EXPRESS (DOLQ) 64,076 52,846 21.25[LAC]mustatleastdouble11%ofthenationsexternalMAERSK LINE (MAEU) 63,836 5,315 1,101.04ourlevelofinvestmentindebt. Venezuela has taken anHAMBURG SUD (SUDU) 58,232 222,978 -73.88infrastructure.Goldfajin,anestimated $62 billion in loansOCEAN NETWORK EXPRESS PTE LTD (ONEY) 40,779 68,813 -40.74Israeli-bornBrazilianecono- since2007.Overall,sinceKING OCEAN SERVICES LIMITED INC (KOSL) 32,352 36,566 -11.52mist, believes that investment2005Chinasstate-ownedOTHERS 101,654 131,616 -22.76in the infrastructure will pro- banks reportedly have issuedTotal 1,301,443 1,333,439 -2.40vide the underpinnings to sus- (PAINcontinued on tained growth, as experiencedpage 34)'