Tour of Cargo Warehouses at Miami International Airport

Edison Vasquez from the Miami Warehouse Team at ComReal Miami had the opportunity of participating on the tour at Miami International Airport at its cargo facilities. The tour was guided by Mr. Ernesto Rodriguez, MIA Marketing Division.
Did you know that Miami International Airport is the #1 Airport in the United States for International Freight? According to the latest data from Miami International Airport, during 2012, the airport handled 2,092,254 tons of freight. making it the #1 airport for International freight among US Airports.
Mr. Rodriguez explained that Miami Airport is very different from the other airport in the USA. The key difference and/or advantage is its infrastructure to handle perishables. Did you know that close to 90% of all the flowers that come to the United States come through Miami? Plus over 60% of imported fish and produce come through Miami International Airport. According MIA officials, the airport and the warehouses surrounding the airport provide a unique infrastructure to handle these perishables. All these perishables get into cooler warehouses at the airport as soon as they get off the airplane and then move to another cooler warehouse outside the airport to then be distributed to their final destination.
The Airport Authority continue to make improvements to foster the growth of the airport and continue attracting business. The latest investment is their $6.4 billion Capital Improvement Program. This investment is allocated among Terminal, Cargo, Central Boulevard project, 25th Street Viaduct, MIA Mover, Rental Car Center (RCC) and Miami Intermodal Center. This investment ensures that Miami will continue to be the #1 airport for freight ans increase it's share of passengers coming through Miami.
Below are some pictures during the tour. Additionally, below are some link to some more information and statistics on Miami International Airport:
- Miami International Airport 2012 Statistics
- Miami International Airport Cargo Overview 2012-2013
- Miami International Airport Passenger Overview 2012-2013

Miami Herald and FIU on Laundering Money via International Trade

It’s really good to have both FIU and the Miami Herald monitoring this issue that effects Miami's commercial real estate market. Be sure to read the Business Monday May 11th article in Miami Herald on “Money Laundering”. If you are interested in this topic, be sure to read the full article at http://business.fiu.edu/pdf/PrintMay2009/money-laundering-through-international-trade.pdf

My firm deals with many customers in the international trade business, importing and exporting. For those we do not know, we are sure to screen them as best we can before we do business. Some of my landlord clients demand this before they will execute lease agreements on their Miami warehouses. We are also asked to visit any prospective tenants current location to see their operation ensuring that is legitimate and active. Tenants are required to fill-out credit applications and are also screened via the US PATRIOT Act.