Trapac negotiations with Jaxport could lead to shipper's exit

[thelakelander]

If the Jacksonville Port Authority can't successfully renegotiate its lease with Japanese terminal operator Trapac, the Asian cargo shipper could leave Jacksonville, the port CEO and board members said during a meeting about the negotiations.

The company, which came to Jacksonville in 2005, is meeting with port executives this week to continue talks. In early March, port authority members flew out to California to meet with Trapac.

At stake is Trapac's $300 million investment in its Jacksonville facility and a significant amount of the nearly 10,000 direct jobs that come from the port.

"They are not the only game in town, but they helped us get to where we are, and we would want to do everything we could to ensure they remain here," Jaxport CEO Brian Taylor said during a Feb. 26 special board meeting to discuss the negotiations. "But it is clearly possible we may not reach a set of terms that is acceptable to them or acceptable to us."

Among other things, Trapac is asking the Port Authority to move its terminal to a location that would be guaranteed 47 feet of water.

Full article: http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2016/04/06/trapac-negotiations-with-jaxport-could-lead-to.html