WTDC Newsletter April 19, 2023

 

President’s Corner

Last week South Florida experienced historic rainfall. Our neighbors in Fort Lauderdale received over 20 inches of rain in a few hours, leading to the flooding of homes, businesses, and famously Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL). The flooding disrupted fuel availability in South Florida, and many of our clients have reached out in concern for our employees.

Thankfully, WTDC and our employees have not been adversely affected by last week’s storm. WTDC sits in one of the highest elevations in Miami-Dade County and is not in a flood zone. Our loading dock and warehouse rest on a 4 foot high concrete foundation, which gives us and our clients additional peace of mind.

Wishing all of our friends affected by the flooding a speedy recovery.

Stay healthy,

Sean Gazitua, President & CEO

 

Kentucky to remove barrel tax

For more than 50 years, a tax has been assessed on every barrel of bourbon produced in Kentucky. With House Bill 5 (HB5) now passed by Kentucky legislature and signed into law by Kentucky Governor Beshear, the longstanding property tax based on the value of the spirits produced will now be phased out.

The Spirits Business – Kentucky bill to phase out Bourbon barrel tax

Spectrum News 1 – Kentucky bourbon-makers toast bill phasing out barrel tax

 

7 cruise ports of Florida

Florida is home to some of the busiest cruise ports in the world. There is one port of call, Key West, and six main ports : PortMiami, Port Everglades, Port Canaveral, Port Tampa, Jaxport, and Port of Palm Beach.

This week at the 2023 IAADFS Summit of the Americas, our Duty-Free and Travel Retail clients commented on the return of cruise passenger volume as an indicator that their stock volumes will likely increase this year

Cruise Fever – Cruise Ports in Florida: Everything You Need to Know (7 Ports)

 

2023 Summit of the Americas

WTDC attended the 2023 Summit of the Americas in Palm Beach, Florida, this week.

WTDC President and CEO Sean Gazitua, Logistics Manager Ginger Diez, Transportation Manager Castell Chavez, and Sales and Marketing Manager Sean Powers met with supplier clients and with buyers to discuss WTDC’s transportation services.

Women in Travel Retail hosted a networking event during which Ms. Diez won a raffle for a FlyWithWine suitcase. She is pictured below with TMI Editor Lois Pasternak and FlyWithWine Director of Sales Marlene Hulten, who donated the raffle prize.

 

AWI Annual Meeting

Last week WTDC Chairman Ralph L. Gazitua and Logistics Manager Ginger Diez attended the 2023 Associated Warehouses Inc (AWI) Annual Meeting in St. Pete Beach, Florida, for 3 days of networking, education seminars, and alliance building.

 

MSC World America

MSC announced that their new mega-ship, the MSC World America, will be headed to Miami April 2025. This will be the company’s first North American Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) -powered ship.

Highlights of the MSC World America include 13 dining options throughout the cruise, as well as several pool areas (6 pools, 14 hot tubs).

The cruise ship will leave from MSC Cruise’s terminal in PortMiami, which will be the largest cruise terminal in North America once construction is complete.

Cruise Line – MSC Cruises Upcoming Ship MSC World America to Sail from Miami in 2025