Shipping
8
Oct
TB LOGISTICS JSC (TBLOG) – Connecting goods from around the world to Cuba, a country with a distinctive position
From its connection with Thai Binh to more than two years of research and operations, TBLOG shares why it chose Cuba and how it keeps building cargo connections.
Illustrative port banner photo: Haris Illahi / Unsplash. Photo source
Cuba occupies a distinctive position, from its geography to its role in the politics and economy of the Caribbean. Having lived with embargoes since the 1960s, Cuba has had to find ways to stand on its own and continue to survive and develop, day by day, up to the present.
For the Caribbean market in general, and Cuba in particular, those of us far away on this side of the world - separated by the distance between day and night - can hardly grasp everything that has happened and is happening to its people and its land.
Sometimes a task is difficult not because we lack the ability to do it, but because we have yet to bring together enough strength, heart and understanding to move forward together.
A connection with a market few choose
While looking for customers and projects for the logistics company, we had the opportunity to connect and exchange ideas with the joint-venture partner Thai Binh. Those conversations showed us that the partner had substantial import and export cargo volumes for this region, while the logistics services market remained fragmented, with few operators.
As we learned more about the market and developed our business plan, what struck us was how demand could be found in the most basic everyday products: a packet of noodles, a bottle of soy sauce, a toothbrush or diapers…
That demand is real. Yet connecting it with supplies from abroad involves many barriers, including finance, geography and the limited frequency of trade. The transport route is long, difficult and carries many risks, leaving a number of logistics providers hesitant to approach it.
When someone speaks about Cuba, they may readily tell us about the difficulties of living, studying and working there, especially the economic difficulties. Through the media, associations and stories told from afar, outsiders often know Cuba for its financial and resource constraints and the risks arising from the embargo. In our experience, however, few people patiently look further and ask how those already working there have managed to do so.
So how can goods be brought into Cuba?
Not everyone wants to solve this difficult problem, and not everyone has the patience to see it through, particularly when the global economy is growing strongly and moving ever faster.
It was against this backdrop that TBLOG - a provider of global logistics solutions - prepared itself to persist in a small niche within this market, developing services that connect goods from different origins to Cuba as a new step forward.
TBLOG meets Cuban partners during a business exchange at Thai Binh. Photo: TB Logistics JSC. Photo sourceBuilding our own loom, weaving one small thread each day
“TBLOG is taking a road few choose” - this is how many people in the industry and the market have described us.
“TBLOG is narrowing its own path” - this is a view expressed by people working in financial investment, M&A and economic consulting.
“TBLOG handles difficult cargo that few can help with” - this is a comment from suppliers, partners and even agents belonging to associations across the region and around the world.
What, then, must TBLOG do to get started when so little reference data is available to a newly established business?
“Zero data” is how we describe that starting point: a narrow market with little readily available information for a newly established TBLOG to learn from and follow.
TBLOG has had to draw information from its key customer, study the data that customer accumulated over more than 25 years, and gather further information about Cuba through online channels, social media and organizations.
Little by little, TBLOG has built its own loom, weaving one small thread each day; stepping forward, learning for itself and building each part of a patient journey in this distinctive market.
If a niche is not a dead end, there may still be a way through. Slowly, perhaps, but we can move forward.
If one path remains constrained, we need to explore which other suitable paths might open up.
If there is still a market and people who need goods, there is still a way for us to connect them.
If we are ready to move against the crowd, then we must keep walking with resolve, accepting the loneliness and emptiness that can come with that road.
More than two years, moving step by step into practice
TBLOG began preparing for this different direction in January 2024. By the time we share this story, in October 2026, our journey of learning about and entering the Cuban market through actual operations, data research and connections has lasted more than two years.
During that period, TBLOG recorded a volume of more than 2,500 containers into Cuba.
TBLOG has also been able to fly its own flag at conferences, seminars, forums and exchanges related to logistics, the Caribbean market and Cuba.
From its early days with little reference data, TBLOG has gained operational experience to continue along its chosen path, hoping to open the way to success in the manner it envisions.
The market for imports and exports, sales and transport services into Cuba has many difficulties, but it also holds potential. If you want to learn more or explore this market, come and sit down with the TBLOG team to share the conversation.
Solutions can begin there - little by little, step by step - with our needs and aspirations.
Contact the TBLOG team to discuss your cargo connection needs for Cuba.
Talk to TBLOG