b'18American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comChina and Russia go bananas(CAPACITYcontinued fromopportunity for us to extend theyourself.Itisthegreatsilent page 16) useofourassetsandleverageindustry that most people dont rising geopolitical risk? our strength and expertise in theappreciate or understandbut to spur 2025 global recovery Sappio: Yes. The refriger- cold chain more broadly. We arecannotlivewithout.Iencour-ated trade has been less impactedan equipment solutions provider,ageyoungpeopletojointhis By Andrew Meadows, AJOT by tariff changes, and it is drivenfirstly in the marine sector, butindustry, bring the right attitude less by GDP and more by pop- now in other growth sectors.and a full heart and well teach The global banana trade gotcountries.Lossesandadditionalulationsgrowth,tradepatternsAJOT:SeaCuberecentlyyou the business.backontrackin2025throughcostswerestemmingfromtheand people wanting to eat moreissued a press release announc- AJOT:Wewereableto increased demand from two inter- spreadofplantdiseases,impor- fresh food and protein. The gov- ingfourstrategicleadershipinterviewEdDrydenofCar-esting sources - Russia and China.tantly TR4. Low profitability forernment may be able to imple- investments; can you talk aboutrier recently and he spent a lot But despite the worldwide uptickproducersamidhighproductionment tariffs, but they cant movetheglobalshippingindustrysoftimediscussingTransicolds researchers say looking ahead andcosts and limited trickle down ofthe equator.The RFR trade isneed to not only invest in talenttechnology and what it does to forecasting how this year plays outprice rises along the value chain. verydurableandiswhySea- but develop it as well? improve the global cold chain. remains difficult. Thespreadofplantdiseases,Cube has made this our focus. Sappio: At the end of theCan you talk about your com-Thedatacamefromtheimportantlythealarmingpres- AJOT: The market for mod- dayallthecontainerscomepanys relationship with Carrier United Nations Food and Agricul- ence of the Banana Fusarium Wiltular(portable)coldroomsisfrom the same factories, the les- andSeaCubescommitmentto ture Organizations (FAO) BananaTropical Race 4 (TR4) disease inexpected to grow double digitssorsmostlyraisetheircapitalembracing technology?MarketReviewPreliminaryPeru and the Bolivarian Republicover the next decade. Is enteringin the same ABS and financialSappio:Carrierisour Results 2025, a highly recognizedof Venezuela, further continued tothisdifferentbutrelatedenvi- markets.Whatdifferentiatestrustedpartnerandprovides publication issued each year. cause production losses as well asronment exciting for SeaCube? companiesisthepeopletheymost of our refrigerated equip-On the import side, a surgefinancial strain from the substan- Sappio: SeaCube has launchedhireanddevelopandthecul- ment.Iknowpartnerisan in procurements from China andtial costs associated with diseaseitsownportablecoldstoragetures they invest in. The equip- overused word, but the relation-theRussianFederation,whichprevention. companyandalsomadeanmentleasingindustryandtheship we have built with Carrier grew at double-digit rates overacquisitioninthisspace.Asshippingindustryneedstal- isimportanttooursuccessat the first nine months of the year,P riCei nCreaSed aMPenuSthe largest and most consistententedyoungpeopletohelpSeaCube.EveryCarrierreefer was the main driver of expan- g roWth investorinrefrigeratedequip- drive and lead the industry intowe invest in comes telematics sion. In the case of China, thisThe FAO says price increasesment,SeaCubehasarighttothe future. Shipping is a greatready.Technology and how we was facilitated by a shortage inin the US dampened growth. beintheportablecoldstor- industry and when you make ause information to make better domesticproduction,whilein(BANANAScontinued onage space. We view this sectorcareer in this business you are(CAPACITYcontinued on the case of the Russian Feder- page 20) asgrowinganditprovidesanserving something bigger thanpage 20)ation,improvementsinprevi-ously disrupted transport routes andinthetraderelationwith Ecuadorenabledarecovery from the downturns in preceding years. Imports by key developed markets,meanwhile,registered mixed performances, the FAOFreshreport states. In the European Union,thelargestimporterof bananas, demand remained solidTo Marketagainstshortagesindomestic production in the Canary Islands andtheFrenchWestIndies. AmidpersistentlyhighfoodCold Chain Logistics To Lock in Freshnessprices, bananas in the European Union also continued to benefit from being among the cheapest fruitsonretailshelves.Inthe United States of America, rising unit prices for bananas resulted inanoticeablecontractionin demand, in particular for higher pricedorganicbananas.Aver-age import unit values, as well aswholesaleandretailprices in major destinations displayed rising trends over the first nine months of the year.Sabine Altendorf, an econ-omist at the FAO who authored the report, said there have been pockets of banana import growth elsewhere. Over the past decade, there hasbeenrisingdemandfrom someimportersintheMiddle East, notably from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, at some 200,000 tonnes to 300,000 tonneseach.Importdemand from China has more than dou-bled over the past decade, to an estimated 1.8 million tonnes in 2025, she said.The report, which is finalized inJune,discussestheeffectof Fusarium Wilt or Tropical Race 4 on production: Preliminary full-year estimates indicate that global export quantities will expand by approximately6percentfrom their2024leveltosome20.8 million tonnes in 2025. However, developmentsremainedhighlyLeading provider of Cold Chain Solutionsdivergentamongtradingcoun- Innovation meets reliabilityour advanced fleet offerings redefine refrigerated logistics, giving tries, with some seeing fast growth and others affected by sharp con- your shipments expanded global reach with greater longevity and freshness.tractions.Keyfactorsshaping trade in the first nine months ofVisit www.seacubecontainers.com to learn more.2025werereportedassubstan-tially higher supplies from some keyproducingcountries,impor-tantlyColombiaandthePhilip- seacubecontainers.compines.Production shortages were causedbyadverseweathercon-ditions in several other supplying BSYA1199 Seacube Farm to Market AJOT 8x10 .indd 1 3/12/26 3:24PM'