Port of LA Busier Than Ever

By Karen Robes Meeks

The Port of Los Angeles posted its busiest month in history, moving 952,554 TEUs in October, according to the latest statistics released this week. That represents a 27.2 percent spike from the same period last year and breaks the port’s previous record set in November 2017, when Los Angeles handled 924,225 TEUs.

Imports and exports also rose by double digits in October, with imports up 26.7 percent to 485,824 TEUs and exports rising 20.5 percent to 173,824 TEUs. So far, the port has moved 7.7 million TEUs this year.

“During October two of our container terminals – APM Terminals and Fenix Marine Services, formerly Eagle Marine – processed record container volumes while West Basin Container Terminals and Everport Terminal Services handled the biggest ships to ever call at those facilities,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka. “These robust cargo volumes equate to more jobs in the region and across the nation. We’re committed to doing our part to continue building a strong and skilled workforce for years to come.”

APMT Adds Sustainable Tractors at Los Angeles

By Karen Robes Meeks

APM Terminals Pier 400 at the Port of Los Angeles has upgraded its operations to include 16 sustainable yards tractors, thanks in part to a federal grant.

Procured by the port, the EPA’s $500,000 Diesel Emissions Reduction Act grant augments APMT’s more than $1.5 million investment in the project.

“This project is a model of sustainability,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka. “We applaud APMT for its foresight, creativity and willingness to invest in green growth and education.”

Also, APM Terminals gave 12 older yard tractors to three auto mechanic training programs in the Los Angeles Unified School District. “This is a great outcome on all fronts,” said Steven Trombley, managing director, APM Terminals, Los Angeles. “We’re running a cleaner terminal and doing our part to improve the air for those who live and work in the harbor area. At the same time, we’re supporting workforce training by providing students the equipment they need to prepare for high-skilled, good-paying jobs in the goods movement industry right here in Southern California.”

SSA Marine Takes Over Tacoma Terminal

By Karen Robes Meeks

SSA Marine has replaced APM Terminals for stevedoring and terminal services for Matson at The Northwest Seaport Alliance Tacoma terminal.

The alliance’s managing members recently authorized SAA Marine’s 10-year lease for the West Sitcum Terminal, which APM Terminals (APMT) operated since 1985 until it was announced in April that SSA Marine would be taking over by the end of the year.

“APMT has served us well,” said Ron Forest, senior vice president – operations for Matson in April. “It just makes more sense to work with our strategic partner at Tacoma as we do at all of our other terminals on the West Coast. We expect a seamless transition and no change in our Tacoma operations from a customer standpoint.”

Before the deal, West Sitcum was the only Matson terminal on the West Coast not managed by SSA Marine.

APM Terminals Hacked

By Karen Robes Meeks

APM Terminals at the Port of Los Angeles and Tacoma are now re-opening following a massive cyber attack that hampered operations.

The A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, which bases its West Coast operations at APM Terminals Pier 400, opened the Los Angeles terminal on Friday and announced that it is “pleased to report that our operations are now running close to normal again.”

As of Thursday, July 6, most of Maersk’s international facilities are operating at normal capacity, with some experiencing delays because of backlog. Meanwhile, a handful of North American terminals are listed as normal or close to normal, including Los Angeles, Mobile, Port Elizabeth, South Florida and Tacoma.

“We understand the impact this situation has had on your supply chain and can assure you that we are making daily progress on a global scale,” Maersk said on its website. “We are prioritizing the recovery of tools and processes that are most critical.”

The Denmark-based company was among several firms under attack by ransomware that forced the shipping company to shutter its IT systems across multiple sites worldwide and close terminals on June 27.

One ship was able to leave Los Angeles early that Tuesday morning, but at least one vessel scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles last Friday (June 30) had been detoured to neighboring Port of Long Beach, according to the Press-Telegram.

Maersk said APM Terminals “continue to work towards full restoration of its IT systems.” “Our focus is on ensuring the best business continuity possible for our customers and business partners. We are collaborating with IT experts including national cyber-crime agencies and IT industry leaders, to reinstate services safely and without further disruption.”

SSA to Manage Matson’s Tacoma Terminal

By Mark Edward Nero

On April 4, Matson Inc. announced that its US Pacific carrier subsidiary Matson Navigation Co. will use SSA Terminals (SSAT) for stevedoring and terminal services at the Port of Tacoma when its existing agreement with APM Terminals expires on December 31.

“APMT has served us well. It just makes more sense to work with our strategic partner at Tacoma as we do at all of our other terminals on the West Coast,” Ron Forest, senior vice president of operations for Matson explained in a statement.

Tacoma is the only Matson terminal on the US West Coast not currently handled by SSAT.

The terminal, with 12 employees, became part of the Maersk Group portfolio in 2000 with Maersk Line’s acquisition of US-based Sea-Land Service. The facility, with an annual throughput capacity of 600,000 TEU, was used primarily by the Matson Alaska Service, with twice-weekly sailings between Tacoma, Anchorage and Kodiak, and a weekly service between Tacoma and Dutch Harbor, handling about 190,000 TEUs in 2016.

“We expect a seamless transition and no change in our Tacoma operations from a customer standpoint,” Forest said. In a statement, APM Terminals said it is “evaluating all options” regarding the terminal lease with Matson that expires at the end of the year.

APM Raises Tallest Port Crane

By Mark Edward Nero

The first of 10 ship-to-shore cranes at APM Terminals’ Port of Los Angeles facility has been raised 33 feet (10 meters) at Pier 400, making it the tallest port crane in North America, the terminal operator said Sept. 14.

The crane is expected to be ready for vessel operations in the next few months, according to APM.

The Los Angeles crane extension project is a $40 million investment, according to APM Terminals CEO Kim Fejfer. The project is designed to prepare for regular Ultra-Large Container Vessel (ULCV) calls in the trans-Pacific trade lanes, carrying up to 20,000 TEUs per vessel. Prior to the upgrade, the largest ships that could be served were vessels carrying an average of 13,000 TEUs.

APM Terminals Pier 400 Los Angeles operates a total of 14 STS cranes. The 10 retro-fitted cranes will enable handling vessels that have a beam of 23-containers wide, and stacked ten containers high above deck.

An additional feature of the upgraded cranes is the installation of light-emitting diode (LED) illumination to improve operator visibility and accuracy of the cranes’ optical character recognition (OCR) programs. The cranes are expected to use 60 percent less energy than conventional lighting systems.

The 484-acre APM Terminals Pier 400 Los Angeles terminal, which opened in 2002, is one of the largest proprietary terminals in the world. Its throughput was 2.48 million TEUs last year, about 16 percent of the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex’s combined 2015 throughput of 15.3 million TEUs.

A time-lapsed video of the crane being raised at APM Terminals Pier 400 Los Angeles can be seen at https://youtu.be/V1gciMbYHjc

POLA Receives Emissions Reduction Grant

By Mark Edward Nero

The Port of Los Angeles has received a $469,000 grant award from the US Environmental Protection Agency to retrofit cargo handling equipment. The port secured the grant on behalf of two terminal tenants – SA Recycling and APM Terminals.

The port will administer the grant funds for the project, which involves retrofitting 14 pieces of cargo handling equipment with diesel particulate filters.

The retrofit is expected to result in a reduction in particulate matter emissions by 85 percent and carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions by 90 percent. Retrofitted equipment is to include a top handler, material handlers, loaders, haul trucks and a bulldozer. The project is expected to be completed by December 2015.

Although the port will oversee the grant project, SA Recycling and APM Terminals own the cargo handling equipment and will conduct the retrofits.

The grant is funded through the EPA’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) program. The Port of LA was one of six ports nationwide to receive EPA funds as part of the DERA grants program, which focuses on retrofitting, replacing or repowering diesel engines to reduce harmful emissions.

SA Recycling, a metal recycler, has had operations at the Port of Los Angeles since 1962 and also operates over 50 recycling facilities throughout California, Texas, Arizona and Nevada.

APM Terminals, which operates a 400-acre container terminal at the Port of Los Angeles, has business interests in 70 port and terminal facilities globally.

Tacoma Port Hires New Ops Center Head

The Port of Tacoma has hired well-traveled industry veteran Dustin Stoker to lead the port’s new operations center.

In his new position, Stoker is responsible for overall port operations, including waterway management, road and rail functions and break bulk and terminal operations.

Stoker brings more than 14 years of experience in both domestic and international terminal management. Before joining the port, Stoker was director of Deltaport Operations with Terminal Systems, Inc. at the Port Metro Vancouver in British Columbia from August 2011 to July 2013.

He also previously served as the chief operations officer at Abu Dhabi Terminals from September 2010 to August 2011; and as general manager of the APM Terminals container facility within the Port of Salalah from December 2008 to September 2010.

His professional background also includes holding management positions at the APM Terminals facilities in the Netherlands and the Port of Los Angeles between 2005 and 2008.

He was previously based at the Port of Tacoma for nearly five years, between March 2000 and January 2005, as a manager of yard, gate and vessel operations for APM.

Stoker earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in management from the University of Washington in 2002.

 

Study: APM Terminals First in Productivity

APM Terminals Yokohama has been ranked the most productive terminal in the world by a recently released study by trade and transportation intelligence and data company JOC Group.

The results of the study were revealed July 26. They were based on five years of data collected from 600 terminals at 400 ports and 17 global shipping lines representing 70 percent of the global liner fleet and over 100,000 port calls.

APM Terminals Yokohama, which handled 875,000 TEUs in 2012, operated at a productivity level of 150 moves per hour (MPH), 26 percent more than its closest rival. APM Terminals Mumbai, India’s busiest container terminal in 2012 with 1.96 million TEUs handled, ranked first among terminals working vessels of less than 8,000 TEU capacity, with 101 MPH.

In the Americas geographic region, APM Terminals Port Elizabeth, at the Port of New York and New Jersey ranked second with 82 MPH. The terminal handled 1.1 million TEUs in 2012.

The study, which was prepared by US-based JOC Group, which includes the Journal of Commerce, and the PIERs data service, noted that terminal efficiency has become an increasingly important aspect in shipping lines’ operational calculus, as schedule integrity and fuel costs have become much more significant factors in achieving customer satisfaction as well as a healthy bottom line.

The rankings are expected to become an annual Journal of Commerce publication feature.

 

APM Terminals’ Quarterly Profit Dips

Terminal operator giant APM Terminals has posted profits of $166 million for the first quarter of 2013, which is down 26.5 percent from the same quarter last year despite moving the same number of containers as in Q1 of 2012.

The $226 million in profits APM reported during Q1 2012 included a divestment gain of $73 million following the sale of Maersk Equipment Service Co. and half of the company’s stake in the Port of Xiamen, China.

APM, which is part of the AP Moller Maersk Group, reported profits of $226 million, also reported container throughput of 8.6 million for the quarter, relatively unchanged from the same period the year before.

The global container terminal market saw a three percent increase in container volumes during the first quarter of 2013.

“The result for the period was affected by reduced volumes in North America and Western Europe, as well as reduced activity in level in Inland Services, following the divestment of Maersk Equipment Service Co. in the US in March 2012,” APM explained in a statement, saying that positive developments in terminals in high growth markets compensated for the downturn in volumes elsewhere.

Maersk Annual Profits Up

The AP Moller-Maersk Group says it recorded a profit of $4.0 billion in calendar year 2012, higher than the most recent announced outlook of around $3.7 billion, which had been forecast in November 2012.

The company’s profit margin was negatively affected by a decline in Maersk Oil’s share of production and impairment losses of net $405 million, of which $268 million was related to Maersk Tankers in the third quarter.

But that loss was countered by an $899 million settlement of an Algerian tax dispute in the first quarter of the year, according to the company, combined with improved volumes, rates and unit costs for Maersk Line.

“After a difficult start, Maersk Line improved its performance and the Group achieved a result above last year’s, both in terms of net result and in underlying performance,” Maersk CEO Nils Andersen said in a statement.

Regarding subsidiary companies within the company, Maersk Line earned a profit of $461 million, which was down from 2011’s $553 million; however, Maersk Oil’s profit of $ 2.4 billion was up $300,000 from the previous year. APM Terminals turned a profit also, earning $723 million, up from $648 million in 2011.

Lack of Transport Infrastructure a Growth Obstacle: Report

Deficiency in transport and communications infrastructure is one of several supply chain barriers that act as obstacles for speeding up global economic growth, according to a recently released report by the World Economic Forum.

The report, entitled “Enabling Trade: Valuing Growth Opportunities,” was prepared by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Bain & Co. a Boston-based global management consulting firm.

The report was made public Jan. 23 at the opening of the 11th annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The forum is a gathering of the world’s political and business leadership.

The report highlights a variety of identified supply chain barriers – ranging from poor physical and technical infrastructure to border controls, customs paperwork, lack of coordination between national agencies and regulations favoring local products over imported ones.

“This report makes clear that transportation infrastructure investment can have a very positive and immediate impact on trade growth and economic and social development, particularly in emerging market areas,” noted APM Terminals CEO Kim Fejfer, who took part in the forum, which was held Jan. 23 to 27.

AP Moller-Maersk, the parent company of APM Terminals, is an active participant in the World Economic Forum group that prepared the report.

The WEF study estimates that global trade would increase by an estimated $1.6 trillion, or 15 percent, while global GDP would rise by $2.6 trillion, or roughly five percent, if every country improved two key supply chain barriers just halfway to the world’s best practices: improving inadequate infrastructure and adopting modern communications technology such as electronic freight releases, and by streamlining and simplifying border administration procedures.

“Addressing infrastructure requirements to facilitate global market access is a relatively straightforward process when strong local partnerships can be forged,” Fejfer said. “We share a common interest in creating modern port and inland transportation facilities so local communities can benefit from trade-driven development.”

The study’s authors examined the effects of trade barriers by contacting about 90 internationally active companies representing combined annual revenue of $800 billion. Of these companies, 35 provided input, with 21 of these participating in preparing 18 case studies representative of major industries, barriers and supply chain functions.

The telecom and transport infrastructure components were defined by the report’s authors as the availability and quality of transport infrastructure; the availability and quality of transport services; and the availability and use of information and communication technologies.

Increased operational costs, increased demands on investment and working capital, and cargo delivery delays were found to be the consequences of inadequate infrastructure, discouraging individual company trade growth and participation.

The report’s executive summary can be read or downloaded at:

http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_SCT_EnablingTrade_ExecutiveSummary_2013.pdf. The full report is at:

http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_SCT_EnablingTrade_Report_2013.pdf.

APM Breaks Ground on $900 Million Mexico Terminal

Senior executives from APM Terminals, along with various elected and appointed Mexico officials, held a groundbreaking ceremony Nov. 9 for the new $900 million Lázaro Cárdenas Terminal 2 (TEC2) deep-water terminal at the Port of Lázaro Cárdenas.

Mexican Federal Secretary of Communications and Transportation Dionisio Perez-Jacome Friscione and Fausto Vallejo, the governor of the Mexican State of Michoacan de Ocampo, were among those on hand to formally lay the foundation stone for the Pacific Coast terminal, which would be located at Mexico’s second-busiest container port.

“The new terminal at Lázaro Cárdenas will create tremendous opportunities for the growth of international trade and new jobs for Michoacan de Ocampo and for all of Mexico,” Jorgen Nielsen, the general director of APM Terminals’ Lázaro Cárdenas operations said.

The TEC2 facility will be developed in three stages. The first, which would have an annual throughput capacity of 1.2 million 20-foot equivalent units, is expected to begin operations by the first quarter of 2015.

At full build-out, TEC2 is expected to provide shipping companies with 1,485 meters of berth, 16 ship-to-shore cranes capable of handling ultra-large container ships of 15,000 TEU capacity and above, and an annual throughput capacity of 4.1 million TEUs.

“We are very proud to be a part of Mexico’s growth, and look forward to creating a new world-class port facility which will reduce logistics costs and improve Mexico’s global competitiveness,” APM Terminals Vice President for Business Implementation, Tiemen Meester, who participated in the ceremony, said.