With containerized cargo numbers up in every port from the Everglades all the way up to Halifax, Canada, Eastern ports are rushing to expand their container facilities and capabilities. “We had a record growth in containers,” says Phillip Allen, Director, Port Everglades, which saw double digit growth in containers, breaking the 5 million TEU (twenty foot equivalent unit) mark. Those results were typical. There was growth up and down the coast, attributable to two things: the ever increasing growth in global trade in general (shipped largely in containers) and an increase in trade from the Asia Pacific region.

Even once unlikely prospects are seeing the influences of trade. Jacksonville (JAXPORT) is not known for its presence in Asian trade, but the port recently signed a long-term agreement with MOL, its first container service with Asia. Roy Schleicher, Senior Director, Trade Development, Marketing, & Customer Service, says they had a lot of interest from Asian companies, but MOL was the first to make the move. The port remains very much in “real estate mode,” he says, looking for locations for the Asian customers he's sure will come.

It's not really surprising, in light of stories of delays at West Coast ports, that many shippers are turning to the East for respite, planning all-water routes from Asia through the Suez and Panama canals. Although the transit times are longer, the eastern ports haven't experienced the same level of congestion and thus delivery times are easier to predict. “As the West Coast was becoming a problem, the East Coast became appealing,” says Schleicher.

Fortunately for ports along the Eastern Seaboard, they're reaping advantages from lessons learned from their West Coast counterparts. Because growth on the East Coast has not been as explosive as along the Pacific coast, the ports have had a little more time to plan and manage their growth without the headline-making delays experienced in the West during the summer of 2004. Ports along the Atlantic are aware of the need for infrastructure improvements and developments that will enable them to meet the needs of customers trading globally. Requirements such as deeper channels and berths, specialized cargo handling equipment and improved inland transportation links are all being included in port development plans.

With time to grow, many ports have undertaken multi-year, multi-million dollar improvement plans. The Port of Virginia is an example, having begun a massive redevelopment of its Norfolk International Terminal in 2002; although parts of the project are completed and the terminal is still operational, the total project won't be completed until 2012.

Currently, the Port of New York/New Jersey is undergoing the most intensive improvement project in its history. The plan encompasses every port function, from machinery, to rail lines, even as far as developing distribution networks through the entire Northeast. It's an ambitious plan; one that port officials believe will leave it well positioned to handle growth that is forecasted to reach 14.4 million container units by 2040.

Logistics planning is also coming to play a major role in the East. Shippers looking to avoid costly delays both on the water and on land are looking to locate distribution centers closer to their customers rather than shipping goods to the closest western port and trucking the goods over to their eastern customers.

The Port of Virginia has a distinct advantage here. Virginia, home to over 50 distribution centers, has seen business increase as retailers ship to the port and then feed the goods into their nearby East Coast distribution centers. “As long as the distribution centers are here, our trade with China and India will continue to grow,” says Port of Virginia spokesperson Joe Harris.

New York is taking the concept one step further. The Port is working with other stakeholders to establish a network of inland distribution hubs at key customer points throughout the Northeast. The idea is to speed up the flow of goods, avoid congestion at the ports, and minimize truck traffic-definitely smart long-term planning.

Another concept the eastern ports have borrowed from the West is the idea of development with a degree of environmental awareness and sensitivity. “With the kind of growth we're forecasting, we want to ensure environmental issues are brought in at the development stage rather than at the end,” says Port Everglades' Allen. Port development plans now often include stakeholders, such as environmental groups and communities along the waterfront, and look at alternate plans for development, environmental impact assessments and alternate waterfront uses. Particularly sensitive to the issue is Port Everglades, whose channel is home to a coral reef. “We want to make sure we address all the aspects-reef, wildlife, air, water,” says Allen. Other port decisions are also made with the environment in mind. At the Port of Virginia, “we try to purchase the highest grade engines that produce lower emissions,” says Harris.

With consumer demand still increasing, and goods coming from locations around the globe, congestion seems inevitable. But, alternative shipping patterns and logistics planning have left the East Coast ports in an enviable position. With growth occurring at a steady but not unmanageable rate, the concept in the East seems to be one of controlled growth. According to Allen, this issue is now “how to grow fast, but still maintain throughput.” That's an issue the East Coast ports seem well positioned to address.

RESOURCE GUIDE: East Coast Ports

Port of Halifax

The Port of Halifax is the most easterly full-service North American container port. It is the first in-bound and last out-bound port to North America from Europe and the Mediterranean, providing the shortest ocean voyage times for ships on the North Atlantic and Suez routes. Offering some of the deepest container berths on the eastern seaboard, the Port of Halifax is able to handle the world's largest container vessels.

The Port of Halifax serves Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario, the U.S. Midwest and New England. The port is the first stop on the Great Circle Route. Many vessels use the port to lighten their loads before moving on to New York, or to pick up final loads before moving on to the ocean part of their voyage.

Container traffic is on the increase at the Port of Halifax. In 2005, over half a million TEUs were shipped through the port, representing a 4.7 percent increase over 2004. The port offers two advanced container terminals with a combined capacity of more than 500,000 containers per year.

The 72-acre South End Container Terminal is operated by Halterm Limited and can accommodate three fourth-generation container ships simultaneously. The terminal is equipped with six ship-to-shore gantry cranes, nine yard gantries and boasts a storage capacity of 12,500 TEUs. It also offers a 30,000-square-foot consolidation facility. From the South End Container Terminal, Canadian National provides daily double-stack train departures from the port to Montreal, Toronto and Chicago.

The 70-acre Fairview Cove Container Terminal, operated by Cerescorp Company, provides on-site storage for 9,000 TEUs. With four gantry cranes and five yard gantries, Fairview Cove is able to handle two fourth-generation container vessels simultaneously. A terminal deepening project, completed in the spring 2005, brought the container berths to a depth of 55 feet.

Investments in the Port's terminals and equipment have made Halifax one of the few ports in North America that is capable of handling fully loaded post-Panamax vessels. The port is uniquely positioned for growth, with its natural harbor depth, lack of congestion and available land for expansion. Its strong intermodal rail and road links make it a strong competitor for goods coming into the Northeastern and Midwest markets.



Port of Montreal

The Port of Montreal is uniquely situated among eastern ports. It lies 90 miles inland from the Atlantic and is accessed by the St. Lawrence River, one of the largest inland waterways in the world. Its channel, which is 37 feet below the lowest water line, is open year-round to ships that can carry up to 4,100 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) containers. Montreal is the international port closest to North America's industrial heartland, a market of approximately 100 million Canadian and American consumers.

This past year, the Port of Montreal handled 1.25 million TEUs, making it the fourth consecutive record year of container growth. Like other ports, Montreal has seen an increase in container traffic, which has grown at an average rate of 5.3 percent over that past ten years. Montreal attracts significant traffic from the European and Mediterranean ports as it offers the shortest route between these ports and North American markets.

Montreal offers 4 modern container terminals and two multipurpose terminals. The container terminals cover approximately 185 acres and are equipped with 14 dockside gantry cranes, yard gantry cranes and handling equipment. All together, the Port has 18 container handling berths.

Approximately 60 percent of the containerized traffic moving through the Port of Montreal is carried inland by rail, mostly to and from markets in Ontario and the U.S. Midwest. In order to expedite shipments, the Montreal Port Authority operates its own rail network on port territory. This network offers direct access to almost every berth, with over 60 miles of track and six locomotives. The Port's railway network is directly linked to the yards of the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railways, which both provide dockside rail access. This allows for rapid loading of standard as well as double-stack and spine cars, and avoids the need for intermediate transshipment.

The Port of Montreal's facilities are located close to a network of major highways leading to key centers throughout North America. New England and the state of New York are less than one hour away.

In 2006, the Montreal Port Authority plans to invest C$40 million in improvements, modernizing the infrastructure and adding new equipment and technologies. Approximately $20 million of that total will be spent on expanding and resurfacing the port's container terminals.



The Port of New York/New Jersey

The Port of New York/New Jersey is the largest port complex on the East Coast of North America. It provides immediate access to one of the largest consumer markets in the world. Approximately 25 million tons of cargo move through the Port each year including 4.5 million TEUs of containerized cargo. Within one day of arriving at the port, goods can reach 105 million consumers in both Canada and the United States.

The surge in Asian imports to East Coast ports has figured prominently in the development plans of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Asia serves as the Port's number one market, with trade to and from this area growing 30.5 percent in 2004. As a result, the Port is in the midst of a multi-billion dollar improvement plan that is addressing all areas of the Port-terminals, transportation and channel/berth depth.

The Port Authority oversees the operations of seven cargo terminals in the New York/New Jersey area, with over 1300 acres devoted to containerized cargo. Additionally, there are private terminal operators servicing the ports. In conjunction with these partners, the Port is improving the terminals by adding new post-Panamax cranes, improving rail facilities, enlarging wharves and deepening and widening berths. Major projects are underway at the APM, Maher, Port Newark, Howland Hook, and New York Container Terminals.

Key to terminal improvements is the development of inland transportation facilities that will help ease traffic and port congestion. The Express Rail System is a fully intermodal transportation system that will help move cargo out of the terminals. Slated to be fully operational by 2008, the system will provide the major terminal operators with on-dock rail facilities that connect directly with a nationwide rail grid. It is expected that the Express Rail System will triple the number of containers carried to and from the port by rail.

To further improve the movement of cargo inland from the terminals, the Port is also working with other entities to develop a network of inland distribution hubs at major customer locations, improving efficiency and reducing truck congestion.

Another major undertaking of the Port improvement program is the deepening of several of the Port's key channels to 50 feet. This will enable the Port of New York/New Jersey to accommodate the larger ships commonly used in the Asian market. In conjunction with the terminal operators, the Port has also undertaken a number of berth deepening projects to meet the demands of global shipping companies.

The Port of New York/ New Jersey is completing updating and redeveloping almost every aspect of its operations in order to meet the projected demand for services and to accommodate the larger vessels and the huge amounts of cargo they carry.



Port of Baltimore

This past year the Port of Baltimore experienced significant growth. More than 8 million tons of general cargo were handled at the Port, of which 5.3 million tons were containerized, a 12 percent increase over 2004.

Although the port is well known as an auto handling facility (it is the second largest auto handling port in the U.S.), containers are a key commodity for Baltimore, representing more than 60 percent of the cargo in public terminals.

Much of Baltimore's growth is credited to all water shipments from the Far East, although expanded services from South America coupled with growth in the European, Mediterranean and South African markets also contributed.

With a 50-foot channel leading to Seagirt Terminal, large container ships can easily access Baltimore. As the key container terminal, Seagirt is a state-of-the-art facility that handles approximately 425,000 TEUs per year, covers 275 acres and has berths with 42-foot drafts. One of the most productive terminals on the North Atlantic, Seagirt is home to seven post-Panamax cranes averaging 37 container moves per hour, and offers on-dock rail service. The terminal's main customers include Evergreen, CSAV and MSC. Plans for 2006 include the completion of a fourth berth at Seagirt and the addition of three Super post-Panamax cranes.

Dundalk Marine Terminal is a general cargo facility also capable of handling containers. The 570-acre facility handles cargo from ACL, Hapag Lloyd, National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (NSCSA), Nordana, Lykes and Wallenius Wilhelmsen Line. Dundalk offers 13 berths, 10 container and two gantry cranes. Due to its large size, the terminal commonly handles large break bulk and project cargo.

Baltimore is an inland port located 125 miles up the Chesapeake Bay. Although ships have to sail in from the ocean, Baltimore is the port closest to the Midwest. It offers quick access to major highways and is serviced by both CSX and Norfolk Southern rail carriers.

Long term, the port is considering a plan that will see the berths dredged to the same 50-foot depth as the main channel at a cost of between $80 and $90 million. The port also has room to add additional container capacity and is in discussion with several lines looking for space.

Port of Virginia

With one of the deepest natural harbors on the U.S. East Coast, the Port of Virginia experienced 9.6 percent growth in 2005, handling 1.98 million TEUs. Of that, import/export activity with China totaled 250,000 TEUs, and India accounted for 55,000 TEUs. The Port expects that growth to continue into 2006, forecasting 8 percent growth this year. In terms of general cargo (container and break bulk), the Port of Virginia is the second largest seaport on the Eastern Seaboard and is called on by most major shipping lines including the Grand Alliance (NYK Line, OOCL, CP Ships and Hapag-Lloyd), CSC Lines, Turkon and CKY.

Much of the success of this past year has been credited to its intermodal facility, Virginia Inland Port (VIP), as well as the overall growth in rail volume heading to and from the Midwest. VIP offers the largest intermodal facility on the U.S. East Coast; containers are transported by truck to the facility for immediate loading upon a rail car or for short-term storage prior to loading. Conversely, containers arriving from the terminals are unloaded from the train and trucked to inland destinations. If required, land is available for container storage.

The VIP is likely to experience further growth as the Heartland Corridor project, which should begin this year, will clear a route for double-stack trains directly from the port to Columbus, Ohio, cutting a day and a half off current transit times, says Port of Virginia spokesperson Joe Harris.

Virginia's other terminals include the Portsmouth Marine Terminal, the Newport News Marine Terminal and the Norfolk International Terminal. At 811 acres, Norfolk International Terminal is the largest terminal and offers Suez-class cranes, capable of handling ships with containers stacked 26 across. Ongoing renovations to the Norfolk Terminal, totaling $280 million were started in 2002 and are slated for completion in 2012. Projects have included reconfiguration of the container yard, reconstruction of the wharf, installation of eight post-Panamas cranes and 70 straddle-carriers that will haul containers away from shipside. Once completed, Norfolk will be a state-of-the-art terminal and will significantly improve the capabilities and operating efficiencies of the port.

With China as the fastest growing customer, and India a close second, the demands on the port are changing. The Port of Virginia feeds many regional distribution centers that have been established near the port by major retailers-retailers who manufacture or buy in Asian and Indian markets, says Harris. Despite having one of the deepest, ice-free channels on the East Coast, plans are to dredge to 55 feet over the next two years to handle the larger vessels coming from the Far East via the Suez and Panama canals.



Port of Savannah

One of the fastest growing ports on the East Coast, the Port of Savannah handled a record 1.76 million TEUs in 2005, a 12 percent increase over 2004, posting its 17th year of consecutive growth. At only 20 days distance, the port offers the shortest route to Asia via all-water service, a fact on which it is capitalizing. Between 1999 and 2003, the port's trade with China grew more than 400 percent.

Savannah has two terminals. Garden City Terminal is a 1200-acre dedicated container handling facility and offers 1.3 million square feet of covered storage. It is one of the top five container handling facilities in the United States. The terminal has 15 high speed cranes-11 post-Panamax that can handle 16 to 18 containers across, and 4 Super post-Panamax capable of handling 22 containers across.

Savannah's other terminal, Ocean Terminal, is a dedicated breakbulk facility, specializing in forest products, RoRo (roll-on/roll-off), project cargo and heavy-lift cargos. Its 208-acre facility offers 1.5 million square feet of covered storage, and 96 acres of open storage. Norfolk Southern provides switching service on-terminal, with line-haul services provided by both Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation.

The Port of Savannah has a strong focus on retail trade from the Far East markets, largely due to the number of distribution centers that are located close to the port. Many major retailers, including Wal-Mart, Pier One and Target have chosen to locate their distribution facilities in Savannah. In total, Savannah area distribution centers cover more than 14.7 million square feet of warehousing and generate more than 300,000 TEUs of cargo annually.

Savannah is anticipating increased trade from the Far East. To prepare for it, the port is currently in the midst of a $100 million improvement program that will add berths and cranes to the terminals. Long term plans are to increase throughput at the Garden City Terminal from 2.5 million TEUs to 4.37 million TEUs by 2015. The port is also planning to accommodate even bigger cargo vessels with plans to complete the deepening of the port's 42-foot channel to 48 feet by 2011.

Port of Jacksonville

The Port of Jacksonville handled 8.4 million tons of cargo in 2005, including more than 544,000 vehicles, making it one of the largest vehicle handling ports in the country. Although the port has seen some increase in activity from Asia, it still derives a significant portion of its business from Puerto Rico, serving as the hub for operators such as Crowley and Horizon Lines, says Roy Schleicher, Senior Director, Trade Development, Marketing, & Customer Service, JAXPORT.

Known as JAXPORT, Jacksonville's facilities include the Blount Island Marine Terminal, which, at 730 acres, is the port's largest facility. The terminal is also one of the country's largest automobile import/export centers.

Talleyrand Marine Terminal boasts 173 acres. Recently, ICS Logistics completed construction of a 553,000 square foot warehouse at Talleyrand. Currently, JAXPORT is looking to acquire an additional facility north of the terminal to accommodate growth.

The 585-acre Dames Point Marine Terminal is the future location of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines' Ltd. (MOL) 158-acre container handling facility. The agreement between JAXPORT and MOL was one of the most significant events of 2005, according to Schleicher. Once completed, the 150 million container facility will include two 1200-foot berths and 6 post-Panamax cranes. Additional phases of the project could see it expand to more than 200 acres.

Over the past decade, JAXPORT has committed over $200 million in capital improvements to the three marine terminals and to Jacksonville's harbor. The St. Johns River deepening project brought a 14 mile stretch of the river to a 40 foot depth. Plans are currently in place to deepen the channel from Dames Point to Talleyrand to 41 feet. Due to the increasing vessel sizes, JAXPORT is also looking at the possibility of deepening the draft from the ocean to the Blount Island Terminal.

JAXPORT offers excellent road and rail connections-the port is currently serviced by three railways including CSX Transportation, Florida East Coast and Norfolk Southern, and is minutes away from three major highways. Another advantage of the Port it its ability to offer good backhaul opportunities, said Schleicher. “We have more trucks coming in that we do going out, so they are looking for backhauls.” That allows for decent rates for businesses looking to truck goods out from the port.



Port Everglades

Port Everglades handled 26.6 million tons of cargo in 2005, including 5.1 million tons of containerized cargo, a 22.5 percent increase over the previous year. When measured by dollar value, Port Everglades accounts for 22.1 percent of the entire state of Florida's ocean trade, handling more than $11 billion in goods annually. All this despite a record hurricane season that included Hurricane Wilma, which alone caused over $7 million in total damages to the port, reported Phillip Allen, Director, Port Everglades.

The Port is located half a mile from the Atlantic shipping lanes and offers quick access, deep-water channels. It has direct access to the interstate highway system, and is within two miles of the Florida East Coast Railway hub.

The significant increase in container growth is attributed largely to the addition of two new marine terminal operators, Port Everglades Terminal (Mediterranean Shipping Company) and Florida International Terminals (FIT). Port Everglades Terminals opened its 39-acre dockside facility in December 2004. In addition to cargo generated by MSC, APL also began using Port Everglades Terminal for its Central America service.

Further contributing to the growth, in July 2005, FIT began operations and is projected to generate throughput of more than 70,000 containers and up to one million tons of short cargo annually. FIT handles cargo from many ocean carriers including K-Line, CSAV, Hamburg Sud, Hanjin and Zim Lines. Additionally, Crowley Liner Services, the largest marine terminal operator at Port Everglades, experienced a significant increase in container volume this past year.

Cargo is predominantly from the Caribbean and South and Central America, says Allen, and he expects to see continued growth in 2006. “We are struggling to keep up with demand and are looking at adding another 70 acres over the next two years,” he says.

In order to handle the increase in container volume, Port Everglades has been aggressively expanding its facilities at its three main terminals--Northport, Midport and Southport. Infrastructure improvements have included security initiatives, the deepening of several berths and the channels, and the expansion of the Southport container yards. wt

East Coast Maritime Contacts

Major East Coast Ports

Port of Jacksonville (JAXPORT) - www.jaxport.com
Port Everglades - www.porteverglades.com
Port of Savannah - www.gaports.com
Port of Baltimore - www.mpa.state.md.us
Port of NY/NJ - www.panynj.gov
Port of Virginia - www.vaports.com
Port of Montreal - www.port-montreal.com
Halifax - www.portofhalifax.ca

Major East Coast Ocean Carriers

Alianca Lines - www.alianca.com.br
ACL - www.aclcargo.com
K Line - www.kline.com
APL - www.apl.com
COSCO - www.cosco-usa.com
CSAV - www.csav.com
Mediterranean Shipping Co. - www.mscgva.ch
Maersk Sealand - www.maersksealand.com
MOL (America) Inc. - www.molpower.com
NYK Line - www.nykline.com
OOCL (USA) Inc. - www.oocl.com
Hamburg Sud - www.hamburgsud.com
Hanjin Shipping - www.hanjin.com
Hapag-Lloyd (America) Inc. - www.hapag-lloyd.com
Turkon America Inc. - www.turkonamerica.com
United Arab Shipping Co. - www.uasc.com.kw
Wallenius Wilhelmsen - www.2wglobal.com
Nordana Line - www.nordana.com