Transshipment hubs as geostrategic infrastructure

Maritime transport remains the backbone of international trade. The report notes that, according to World Bank data, more than 80% of global merchandise trade by volume moves by sea, with container ports acting as critical nodes in this network. Within that system, transshipment hubs—ports that serve as intermediate transfer points for cargo en route to its final destination— play a geostrategic role of growing importance. Rather than serving only as neutral waypoints, these hubs actively shape trade routes, shipping schedules, and the competitive position of entire economies.

For investors and development finance institutions, this means that a transshipment hub is not simply a piece of transport infrastructure. It is a platform that can amplify a country’s access to global inputs, deepen downstream manufacturing, and anchor long-term trade relationships. The report frames hub status as a national-level strategic priority, not a purely commercial ambition.

The economic multiplier effect of hub status

One of the most important findings highlighted in the report is that transshipment activity has measurable spillover effects into a hub country’s own trade. Citing research from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the analysis shows that a 10% increase in the volume of a specific product being transshipped through a hub is associated with roughly a 2.5% increase in that country’s direct imports of the same product. In practical terms, facilitating trade for others tends to evolve into direct commercial relationships with domestic buyers.

The report also notes that access to a broader set of imported intermediate inputs can reshape a country’s comparative advantage. As local industries increase their use of specific imported inputs, the elasticity between transshipment volumes of those inputs and the industries’ exports rises. This mechanism helps explain how port activity can upgrade a country’s position in global value chains, particularly in manufacturing segments that rely on timely, cost-effective access to components.

A performance map of Latin American container ports

To benchmark where the most credible opportunities lie, the report uses the World Bank’s Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) 2023, which ranks 405 ports worldwide based on ship time in port. The analysis highlights a stark duality across Latin America and the Caribbean. On one side are world-class performers; on the other, underperforming giants in major economies.

Among the leaders, Cartagena in Colombia stands out with a global ranking of 3rd, placing it among the most efficient container ports in the world. Callao in Peru (26th) and Posorja in Ecuador (37th) provide further evidence that pockets of high productivity exist on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts. By contrast, large economic centers still rely on relatively inefficient infrastructure: Buenos Aires in Argentina ranks 269th, while Santos in Brazil—a critical gateway for South America’s industrial heartland—is ranked 294th. These gaps in performance frame much of the report’s investment thesis.

Chancay, Peru: a new Pacific gateway

The report uses the Port of Chancay in Peru as a detailed case study of how new transshipment hubs can be designed to reshape regional trade. Chancay is a greenfield deep-water port backed by approximately USD 3.5 billion in total investment through a joint venture between COSCO Shipping Ports, which holds a 60% stake, and Peru’s Volcan Mining Company, which holds 40%. The project is explicitly embedded in China’s Belt and Road Initiative and has been positioned as a “gateway from South America to Asia.”

Technically, the port is engineered to overcome many of the region’s current constraints. A natural draft of about 17.8 meters allows it to handle ultra-large container vessels exceeding 18,000 TEUs, which many existing regional ports cannot accommodate. In its initial phase, Chancay is designed to move roughly 1 million TEUs and around 6 million cargo items annually, supported by a concurrently planned industrial park focused on logistics and warehousing. The report notes projections that the project could generate approximately USD 4.5 billion per year in economic activity and create about 8,000 jobs while relieving congestion pressures at nearby Callao.

At the same time, the case study underscores that transformative projects carry non-trivial risks. Analysts have raised concerns about the potential dual-use (including military) implications of such a deep-water, large-vessel facility. Within Peru, debate has also emerged around legislation granting COSCO exclusive use of port facilities, highlighting regulatory and political risk factors that investors must underwrite alongside commercial forecasts.

Three archetypes of port-related investment

Synthesizing the performance data and the Chancay case, the report proposes a practical framework for Latin American port and logistics investment. Opportunities fall into three main archetypes:

1. Backing proven leaders. Top-ranked ports such as Cartagena (3rd) and Callao (26th) have already demonstrated operational excellence. The most compelling investments around these hubs focus on adjacent services: integrated logistics and warehousing, cold chains, and nearby industrial parks that leverage the port’s efficiency for assembly, light manufacturing, and value-added services.
2. Revitalizing underperforming giants. Ports like Santos and Buenos Aires combine strategic location with weak performance metrics. For investors with operational and technical expertise, these assets represent classic turnaround opportunities built on public–private partnerships, modernization of terminal equipment, and digital transformation to reduce vessel time in port.
3. Capitalizing on regional competition. Latin America’s maritime landscape is defined by rivalry among hubs—Panama versus Colombia, or the Caribbean versus Pacific contenders. New entrants such as Chancay are designed to disrupt established routes. Investors can position themselves either with emerging challengers aiming to capture market share or with incumbent ports pursuing defensive modernization to protect their status.

Implications for Southeastern U.S. supply chains

For shippers, cargo owners, and infrastructure sponsors in the Southeastern United States, the report’s findings are not abstract. Ports and logistics platforms across Florida, Georgia, and Alabama rely heavily on trade lanes that link the region to Latin America and the Caribbean. In South Florida, for example, local economic development organizations emphasize that PortMiami, Port Everglades, and Miami International Airport position the region as a primary gateway for trade with Latin America and the Caribbean, anchoring a diversified logistics ecosystem that spans ocean, air, warehousing, and value-added distribution.

As new or upgraded transshipment hubs in Latin America capture a larger share of regional flows, Southeastern stakeholders will increasingly need to align their inland facilities, trucking capacity, and distribution centers with those hubs’ sailing schedules, service patterns, and industrial footprints. For mid-sized firms, the most practical levers often sit in partnerships with small, specialized logistics providers who can flex around changing port dynamics.

Examples of SBA-defined small logistics partners in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama

The following companies illustrate the type of U.S.-based small businesses—as classified under U.S. federal procurement standards using Small Business Administration (SBA) size criteria—that can complement strategies described in the report. Each operates in logistics, warehousing, or port-adjacent consulting and is located in Florida, Georgia, or Alabama.

Florida

• Miami Warehouse Logistics, Inc. (Medley, FL)
  A minority-owned small business providing warehousing and logistics-related services, including support classified under Process, Physical Distribution, and Logistics Consulting Services. Its warehousing footprint and consulting capabilities align well with port-centric storage and distribution strategies serving Caribbean and Latin American trade lanes.
• Tranlogistics LLC (Miami, FL)
  A minority- and woman-owned small business active across freight transportation arrangement, deep sea freight, trucking, and general warehousing. Its multimodal profile makes it a candidate partner for shippers that need to connect cargo flowing through Latin American hubs with final delivery points in the Southeast.

Georgia

• Waller & Associates, L.L.C. (Brooks, GA)
  A woman-owned small business offering general and refrigerated warehousing, storage, and logistics consulting (including NAICS 493110 and 541614). For investors and operators evaluating distribution center or cold-chain expansions tied to Latin American imports, firms like Waller & Associates provide design, optimization, and outsourced operations support.

Alabama

• LOG RIGHT LLC (Huntsville, AL)
  A minority- and veteran-owned small business with capabilities in general and other warehousing, storage, and logistics consulting. Its mix of storage capacity and transport-support activities illustrates how smaller firms can plug into regional distribution networks that ultimately depend on efficient Latin American transshipment hubs.

These examples are not endorsements, but they demonstrate the depth of small-business capacity available to support hub-linked strategies. Similar SBA-defined small businesses operate in every major Southeastern market and can be mapped against specific trade lanes, commodity flows, and port investment theses.

Where to go deeper: Southeastern research and policy resources

Investors and operating executives that want to extend the report’s analysis can draw on a range of research centers and non-profit organizations in the Southeastern United States that focus on Latin America, trade, and logistics:

• University of Florida – Center for Latin American Studies
  A long-established National Resource Center dedicated to Latin American and Caribbean studies. The Center produces research, conferences, and outreach on regional economic development and integration, and hosts the Latin American Research Review.
• Florida International University – Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center (LACC)
  A leading hub for policy-relevant research on Latin America and the Caribbean, including work on trade, security, and regional integration. LACC frequently convenes government, business, and civil-society stakeholders in Miami, a key logistics gateway to the region.
• Georgia Tech – Supply Chain and Logistics Institute (SCL)
  SCL conducts applied research and executive education on ports, logistics, and supply chain management, including initiatives and partnerships that engage with Latin American logistics performance and trade facilitation.
• Miami-Dade Beacon Council – Trade & Logistics
  The public–private economic development organization for Miami-Dade County, which publishes sector profiles, data, and strategy materials on trade and logistics, including the region’s role as a gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean.

Combined with the Strategic Investment Report: Latin American Transshipment Hubs, these resources provide a robust foundation for building port- and hub-focused strategies that are grounded in data, regional expertise, and on-the-ground operational realities.