Dive Brief:
- Chiquita Brands International is pulling its shipping and logistics operations out of Mississippi's Port of Gulfport after 40 years and returning to the Port of New Orleans.
- Louisiana offered the banana giant $1.1 million to $1.4 million a year in incentives to relocate. Those figures are roughly equal to the $1.3 million Chiquita paid in yearly rent and fees to Gulfport.
- The move adds 60,000 to 78,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) in traffic to New Orleans. That's about a 15% increase.
Dive Insight:
This is a good day for New Orleans. The world's largest banana company shipped from New Orleans for 70 years before pulling up stakes and heading to Gulfport. Now the prodigal son is returning -- and bringing jobs with him.
Meanwhile, over in Gulfport, no one is happy. Chiquita's departure is going to hurt a number of local companies and is a black eye for a facility that has spent millions on an expansion and restoration plan. Gulfport officials say they're negotiating with other companies to take over the new $29 million terminal the port designed for the banana company. Here's hoping those negotiations prove fruitful.