July 6 - Tuscor Lloyds has opened a new receiving office in Montevideo, Uruguay, writes Alice Davidson.

The office is to be operated by Craft Multimodal, a long-standing and highly valued partner of Tuscor Lloyds in the region. Craft has an expanding local customer base and is looking to plug the gaps in its exhaustive regional service offering.

Nick Rodriquez of Tuscor Lloyds comments: "We have moved a great deal of cargo to Uruguay over the years. With Craft looking after our interests, we can look forward to running frequent LCL groupage containers as well. We're confident that our improved service will be very attractive to the expanding enterprises in the area."

According to a company statement, the rise of Brazil as a powerful and dynamic economy is well documented and its regional influence cannot be underestimated. The recent heavy investment in Rio Grande and the localised development of manufacturing and industrial hubs has improved the outlook for the continent as whole.

Uruguay, like Brazil, has a wealth of raw materials, and a strong legal system and open financial markets also provide a very healthy investment climate. It also has a progressively open economic policy, potentially providing a different proposition to foreigners who are looking to invest in the region.

The company has also launched a brand new sea freight service to Puerto Morelos in Mexico. With the Gulf of Mexico oilfields opening up, there is likely to be further regional development of industry and support services - Tuscor Lloyds is reporting a higher demand for projects and out of gauge cargoes in the region.

Tuscor Lloyds says it controls significant market shares, both import and export, and more recently it is winning trade on the transpacific, especially from China other manufacturers based in the Far East.

The Mexican economic policy has changed dramatically over the past 15 years, and the country is now attracting increased foreign investment as firms take advantage of the low cost labour and its geographical proximity to the largest consumer block worldwide. This has fed through to larger infrastructure projects, as the provinces modernise and more natural resources are discovered.