When John Abisch graduated from the University of Florida in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in business administration, a friend suggested that he interview at Econocaribe, a Miami freight consolidating company then owned by Jerry Lesnik and his family.

Abisch, who studied international business at UF, took this advice (his friend was Lesnik's son) and landed his first job as a clerk in the accounting department. He has been working at the company ever since, rising through management to become Econocaribe's president in 1999.

In 2001, Abisch and five other managers arranged a buyout and took over Econocaribe, building it into a firm that exports sea and air cargo to more than 100 destinations worldwide, has 450,000 square feet of warehouse space, employs 300 and generates annual revenue of more than $100 million.

Founded in 1968, Econocaribe began by providing sea freight service to the Caribbean. Over the years, it expanded to Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The company specializes in international cargo transportation with a focus on export shipments that do not fill entire containers -- or less-than-container loads, in trade lingo.

The company, with headquarters in Miami, seven offices throughout the United States and agents worldwide, consolidates small loads of cargo from South Florida and other parts of the country and fills containers ranging from 20 feet to 45 feet.

By efficiently combining relatively small shipments -- more than 100 direct sea-going export consolidations weekly -- Econocaribe achieves large volumes of cargo and obtains preferential pricing from steamship lines. The company does not own or operate ships but uses several shipping lines to move its cargo.

A market leader in Latin America and the Caribbean, Econocaribe also handles air freight, ships full container loads of ocean cargo and provides short- and long-term storage and bonded warehousing. Additionally, the company consolidates imports and provides supply chain services to customers.

Abisch talked to The Miami Herald about the cargo business and regional trade.

Q: How has the recession affected regional trade this year?

A: The volume of U.S. exports to Latin America and the Caribbean is down about 20 percent. The Caribbean is suffering the most. Their tourist economies are based on discretionary income, and spending by tourists from the U.S. and Europe is down sharply.

Q: Do you see a recovery in 2010?

A: Trade could expand by 3 percent next year. Over time, business will improve but it will be very, very slow.

Q: How has business been for Econocaribe in 2009?

A: Our volumes are off about 6 percent so far this year. Our last three months have been better than the previous three months. Each week we have over 100 direct export consolidations, more than 50 direct import consolidations and over 60 export flights from Miami to the Caribbean and Latin America. We may ship as many as 300 40-foot containers a week. Last year, these figures were higher.

Q: U.S. trade with the rest of the world was down by more than 29 percent through July, but your business has not declined that much. Why is that?

A: We've managed to do better by diversifying into new markets. Our business with Latin America and the Caribbean -- our traditional markets -- is off, but we've been developing markets in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. For example, last year we were sending about 80 containers a week to the Caribbean before the crisis struck. Now we're sending around 65. But business is up in the other markets, and this has helped us this year. We added direct routes from Houston, Charleston and Los Angeles to London, and we plan to add more direct services in the future -- from New York and Chicago to London. We export to the Caribbean but don't import much from them. As we expand into other parts of the world, we can grow both ways -- in exports and imports.

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