Kingston Wharves Limited Group (KWL Group) has taken a bold step in defining and assessing our performance. In addition to our usual annual performance review, we have completed a comprehensive 5-year performance assessment, a longer-term time horizon that is better aligned to our journey to achieving our vision of Best Multipurpose Port in the World. The Group’s performance can be described as excellent: the results show exceptional financial performance over the period and all indicators are moving in the right direction.
The HKND Group reports that by 2030 – just over 16 years from now – the volume of addressable trade will have grown by 240%. The Americas are expected to remain a vital supplier of commodities, particularly energy, to meet Asia’s growing demand. There is, and will continue to be, increasing movement of goods such as coal and LNG on the international market to meet the demands of economies such as China. The total value of goods transiting the combined Nicaragua and Panama Canals will exceed $1.4 trillion, making this one of the most important trade routes in the world. The Caribbean Region, Jamaica in particular, is strategically located to capitalize on this movement.
The development of port infrastructure, the expansion of the Panama Canal and the planned Logistics Hub in Jamaica, support this movement.
An examination of the KWL Group’s domestic versus transshipment business indicates that opportunities are within the transshipment arm of the business. While revenue margins for domestic TEUs and motor cars handled are greater than their transshipment counterparts, volumes are greater in transshipment and has been so for the last ten or more years. Domestic growth is entangled in the overriding macroeconomic issues and challenges that are beyond the KWL Group. Therefore, our focus must be on growing transshipment business and also strategically diversifying our business to meet the full range of our customers’ needs.
To position ourselves to capitalize on the opportunities presented by these trends, the Group has been acting locally but thinking globally for the last 5 years, our world-class vision a clear indication of our commitment to making this strategic shift. The KWL Group accepted the challenge that it was no longer business as usual as the emerging trends meant dealing with more global partners and competitors. The Group’s future would have to be supported by two strategic pillars; local strength with global relevance, driven by a world-class port.
