A: Yes, exactly, because I want these goods on our market at the earliest possible date.

A: How about making Hong Kong the port of shipment instead of New York?

B: And that is?

A: It's like this. There are only one or two ships sailing a month from New York to Osaka, while sailings from Hong Kong are quite frequent. If shipment were effected from Hong Kong, we could receive the goods much earlier.

B: I'm afraid we can't agree to that. We concluded the business with you here in Houston, and the goods you ordered are manufactured in New York. We wish to point out that all orders accepted by us are shipped from New York or Seattle. Hong Kong is out of the question.

A: It has just occurred to me that there is still another possibility to ensure a prompt delivery of the goods.

B: I see. You want to have your goods shipped from New York to Osaka via Hong Kong, where they can be transshipped. Is that the idea?

B: Your idea may be a good one, but the trouble is that there are risks of pilferage or damage to the goods during transshipment at Hong Kong. How about shipping them from Seattle instead of NewYork? You may choose either one as port of shipment. It makes no difference to us. There are more sailings from Seattle than from New York.

B: We'll try our best. Anyway, we assure you that shipment will be made not later than the first half of April.

A: It sounds all right to me, but I will have to think about it. I'll give you a definite answer tomorrow. If I choose Seattle, will it be possible for you to ship the goods by the end of March?