Chilling out: with Zim and Yang Ming aboard, Portland turns its attention to the Japanese reefer trade.(Yang Ming Line,Zim integrated Shipping Services )

The Port of Portland's comeback is well under way, but there's still work to be done. The reefer market could be the next notch in its belt.

The port scored a major coup last month when Zim integrated Shipping Services signed on to move about 500 containers a week through the port beginning in May. That news was quickly followed by reports that Yang Ming Line also will begin calls at the port in May.

The new services come after Portland officials spent more than a year of global travel and meetings with shippers in the Columbia River region and prospective trans-Pacific carriers. After losing two major trans-Pacific operators--Hyundai Merchant Marine and "K" Line--in late 2004 and early 2005, a complete revision of the port's business strategy and approach was necessary.

The willingness to travel the additional mile and to change its thinking eventually will bear fruit for the port. Once the new Zim and Yang Ming …