River Business

We began our River Business in 1993 with a fleet consisting of one pushboat and four barges. In October 2000, we formed a joint venture with American Commercial Barge Lines Ltd., or ACL. From 2000 to 2004, we built UABL into the leading river barge company in the Hidrovia Region of South America. In April 2004 we purchased from ACL their 50% equity interest in UABL.

UABL is the largest owner and operator of river barges and pushboats that transport dry bulk and liquid cargos through the Hidrovia Region of South America, a large area with growing agricultural, forest and mineral related exports. This region is crossed by navigable rivers that flow through Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay to ports serviced by ocean export vessels. We believe that this river system offers the most efficient means of transportation for bulk cargos through the Hidrovia Region. At over 2,200 miles in length, the Hidrovia Region is comparable to 1the Mississippi River in the United States and produces and exports a significant and growing amount of agricultural products. For example, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia produced, in the aggregate, 39.9 million tons of soybeans during the 1995 / 1996 season compared to 115.4 million tons during the 2007 / 2008 season, a compound annual growth rate of 9.3%. Production for the 2008 / 2009 for these countries is estimated at 120.9 million tons, which accounts for approximately 51% of world total soybean production estimates. In addition to agricultural products, companies in the Hidrovia Region are expanding and initiating the production of other goods, including forest products, iron ore.

UABL has 591 barges with approximately 983,900 dwt capacity and 29 pushboats. We own 547 dry barges that transport agricultural products, iron ore and other cargos, and 44 tanker barges that carry petroleum products, vegetable oils and other liquids. We believe that we have more than twice the number of barges and dwt capacity as our nearest competitor. In addition, we use one 35,000 dwt barge designed for ocean trading, the Alianza G2, as a transfer station to provide storage and transshipment services of cargo from river barges to ocean export vessels.

Through joint ventures, we own and operate terminals at certain key locations to provide integral transportation services to our customers from origin to destination. We utilize night-running technology, which allows for night navigation and improves asset efficiency. We also own a drydock and repair facility to carry out fleet maintenance and have a long-term lease on another repair and maintenance yard. Currentyly, we are constructing a new barge building yard where we plan to build 52 barges per year starting by mid first quarter 2009.