Holt Logistics says it has made Philadelphia more competitive with top East Coast ports. A federal agency is looking into allegations of anticompetitive behavior.
The Port of Philadelphia has been booming in recent years. Cargo units have almost doubled since 2016, as the deepening of the Delaware River and public investment have enabled the port to accommodate bigger ships that carry containers full of fruits and meats from such countries as Chile and Australia.
Three other trucking companies told The Inquirer they’ve lost business to Holt and raised similar concerns about its business practices.Shipping now faces another stress test amid the conflict in the Middle East, as Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have beenWhile those events are shaping international trade, the biggest flashpoint in the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority’s monthly meetings on Delaware Avenue near the Betsy Ross Bridge has been Holt.
“They’ve done a hell of a job bringing more business into the port,” said Tim Avanzato, an executive with Lanca Sales, a New Jersey-based import/export company. “What’s been steady through those ups and downs is our willingness to invest in our people, our willingness to invest in facilities, and our willingness to bet on the future of the Port of Philadelphia.”
Leo Holt said his company brokers less than 4% of containers that come into the Packer Avenue terminal and is “emulating” industry best practices. The terminal operator shares data with Holt’s competitors in trucking and warehousing, he said. Truckers including South Philly-based Tri State Intermodal questioned why the port didn’t follow a competitive bidding process in selecting an operator for the warehouse. PhilaPort board chairman Michael Pearson, an appointee of Gov. Josh Shapiro, said the authority selected Holt because of the requirements in the lease.bringing the total to more than half a billion dollars. His administration’s funding helped develop a 155-acre automobile processing center in the Navy Yard known as Southport.
, not taxpayers. The port’s annual rental income has doubled since 2015, from $11 million to $22 million, and the agency hasn’t relied on state subsidy for operating needs since 2018. From 2016 to 2023, container volume increased 82%, Pearson said. He said 60% of all jobs on the port are related to container business, which also accounts for a majority of the $90 million in annual tax revenue generated by the port.and developed an on-dock inspection facility for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, among other improvements, Pearson said — private investments that “have totaled tens of millions of dollars.
The leases “were negotiated fairly and with full consideration for both sides, including recognition of Holt’s improvements to the site” as well as use restrictions, the spokesperson said.Truckers say their frustration is exacerbated by Holt being the beneficiary of the millions of dollars in investment from Harrisburg.
“We at Tri State do not fear competition, but currently our business, our livelihoods, and those of many other local trucking companies are in danger of failure due to what we suspect is unfair competition being carried out by the Holt family of companies,” the company wrote to the port board’s chairman last fall.
Tri State’s demand that Holt exit the trucking business shows that Tri State is only interested in securing profits, not fair competition, Holt said. FIJI’s parent company, The Wonderful Co., declined to say why it switched to Holt’s brokerage but said it reviews trucking contracts every year. FIJI said it has contracted with Holt for warehousing services for 10 years.
FMC spokesperson John DeCrosta said the agency “does not discuss matters related to potential investigations.” Tri State points to an April 2022 email from German international shipping company Hapag-Lloyd about the shipping line’s decision to switch from Tri State to Holt’s brokerage for transportation from the terminal to a railroad.
Hellam declined to name the customer to preserve business relationships, but other sources familiar with the matter identified it as furniture maker Restoration Hardware. Hellam said a different steamship line was involved and that Holt’s account is “completely incorrect.”
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