Seaboard Marine is restructuring its US Gulf Coast network to consolidate port calls on short-sea services, reported New York's Journal of Commerce. The move comes as US trade with Central America has remained flat since 2022 and faces new US policy changes.
The new Gulf service will link Houston and New Orleans with Honduras, Guatemala, Kingston, Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica. Seaboard said the service is designed to enhance reliability and improve transit times.
Seaboard previously operated separate services from Houston to northern and southern Central America, one between Houston and Kingston, and another from New Orleans. The carrier did not comment on whether these will be affected.
The new service largely covers countries under the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which lowered tariffs on US exports beginning in 2006 and was updated in 2009 to include the Dominican Republic.
US exports to CAFTA-DR nations peaked at US$4.6 billion in June 2022 and were at $4.4 billion in March 2025, while imports reached $3.8 billion, Census Bureau data showed.
The US this year imposed 10 per cent reciprocal tariffs on CAFTA members, with exemptions for goods covered under the pact. Most countries negotiated deals to avoid the tariffs, but Nicaragua faces the loss of exemptions over the next two years due to US concerns over human rights and labour policies.
https://www.shippingazette.com/news?news_id=9251200000461
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