POST STATE CONTROL Archives

APM Terminals participated in the Port of New York and New Jersey’s 20th annual Port Industry Day at Liberty State Park, New Jersey, on September 12, 2022, which brought together stakeholders of the port along with distinguished speakers including FMC Chairman Dan Maffei and FMC Commissioner Rebecca Dye, White House Supply Chain Task Force Port Envoy General Stephen Lyons (USA-Ret.) and Administrator of the U.S. Maritime Administration Rear Admiral Ann Phillips (US Navy Ret.). Topics addressed policy issues affecting ports, cargo growth and improving cargo handling efficiency.

Bethann Rooney, Director of the Port Department at The Port Authority of New York/New Jersey participated in a panel exploring “Accommodating Cargo Growth,” which was moderated by John Nardi, President of The Shipping Association of New York and New Jersey. Director Rooney began by recognizing all the terminal operators for doing an excellent job in setting the stage for the port’s success. She also noted the under-utilized gate capacity in the port’s terminals as an opportunity for improvement in the port community. Evening and weekend extra gates are expensive and terminal operators spent $30 million in the past 20 months. She also cited the 60 acres of on and off-dock container storage capacity added on by terminal operators and the Port Authority to adapt to record pandemic volume storage demands.

“Our port is unique in that time and time again our port stakeholders always step up and truly work together through collaboration, coordination and communication for the good of the whole,” said Bethann Rooney, director of the Port Department at The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. “Throughout the overlay of the COVID-19 pandemic, we gathered remotely yet regularly to discuss our collective challenges and to provide visibility into the regional supply chain as a whole, but those relationships do not end when the crisis is over. We are extremely grateful that we were able to bring together several hundred partners and stakeholders of the port in person to once again talk through the national and global logistics challenges now facing our port as well as what we are all doing to address those issues.”

Courtney Robinson, APM Terminals Elizabeth’s Chief Operating Officer opening comments praised Bethann Rooney for galvanizing the terminal operators to work together for the good of the port which has been a success since the start of the February 2022 weekly calls the Port Authority initiated. He highlighted the extraordinary cargo growth driven by the pandemic. “We were constantly adjusting and expanding our operations to serve this growth – with increased cargo volumes at our berth and at our truck gates. Our Labor partners in the ILA deserve special praise for handling the record cargo volumes. They were cooperative and available at all times.”

At APM Terminals Elizabeth, cargo volumes were flat 2019-2020 due to COVID-19, but cargo volume soared by 27% over the last two years and yard utilization grew 25%. Notably, container dwell time (the amount of time a full container sits at the terminal awaiting pickup) increased by 61% since the start of the pandemic. In the first half of 2022, import loads sat more than six days on average. Extended gates were offered throughout the year. Despite strong demand for Saturday gates the actual usage during the pandemic was only 10% of weekly transactions from the shipper and trucking communities. Equally important, Maersk added an offdock drayage program in Q2 2022 which reduced the dwell time on the container terminal, freeing up capacity, increasing fluidity and reducing customers’ storage charges (which are more expensive on waterfront property).

To address this record demand, APM Terminals Elizabeth implemented multiple efforts including investing in more equipment, more infrastructure and keeping extended gates open longer hours at night and on weekends. In the container storage yard, $18.9m in upgrades were undertaken to expand storage capacity, adding space for 250,000 TEUs by the end of 2022. Equipment and facility investments were made including six, new ship-to-shore cranes (two in 2023, four in 2024), six toploaders and the expedited conversion of the diesel container handling fleet to electric equipment in 2023. A terminal appointment system was implemented two years ago in response to the call for more appointments and to aid empty container evacuation. At present, 17,000 weekly appointments for empty equipment are being offered. Queue time for truckers was reduced by 63% and truck gate processing time went from three minutes to 40 seconds.

Tom Heimgartner, Chairman of the Association of Bi-State Motor Carriers who was speaker at the event recognized all the terminal operators for their unprecedented effort to help the trucking community through the record volumes. He called for more flexibility on gates, appointment systems and increased evacuation of empty containers to free up terminal space.

Mr. Robinson finished his remarks by stating “The pandemic is still here and changing all the time. Supply chain disruption will continue to be a normal part of global supply chains this year and every year. Integrated supply chain models are still the best playbook for business agility. We want to thank all our customers – in particular the truckers for being patient, understanding and partnering with us to radically transform our customer experience.”
Source: APM Terminals

The Port of Los Angeles, the highest-volume container gateway in America, is diverging from the nationwide trend. U.S. container imports remain close to record highs, yet imports to LA are falling double digits.

On Thursday, the Port of Los Angeles reported total throughput of 805,672 twenty-foot equivalent units in August, down 15.5% year on year (y/y). Imports came in at 404,313 TEUs, exports at 100,484 TEUs and empties at 300,875 TEUs.

Imports were down big, sinking 16.8% y/y and 16.7% compared to July.

(Chart: American Shipper based on data from the Port of Los Angeles)

It was the lowest import total in Los Angeles for any month since December, when volumes were suppressed by extreme landside congestion.

It was also the lowest import total in LA for the month of August since 2014, eight years ago, back when Barack Obama was president and Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” topped the charts.

But last month’s import plunge in Los Angeles is not indicative of a countrywide trend. According to data from Descartes, U.S. imports in August were essentially flat compared to July. The nationwide import total was up 18% versus August 2

Los Angeles’ performance stands in stark contrast to the blowout numbers just announced by the Port of Savannah in Georgia. Savannah handled 290,915 TEUs of loaded imports in August, by far the highest tally in the port’s history.

Savannah’s August imports were up 15.6% from July, 14.7% from the previous record month in May, 20% y/y — and 34% versus August 2019, pre-COVID.

Demand drivers of decline

During a news conference Thursday, Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka pointed to multiple reasons for the drop.

“Some of the cargo that usually arrives in August for our fall and winter seasons is already here,” Seroka said. “Cargo owners who expected longer lead times shipped earlier in order to guarantee delivery schedules. This just-in-case strategy versus the traditional just-in-time approach has been widespread in the market.”

Meanwhile, with 8.3% inflation, Seroka said “consumers are naturally getting a bit anxious, as are retailers. We’re starting to see canceled production orders out of Asia.”

Competitive drivers of decline

Another reason for weaker August numbers, as highlighted by the booming stats out of Savannah: Imports have shifted to the East and Gulf coasts at the expense of West Coast ports.

“Some shippers diverted cargos to East and Gulf Coast ports in order to avoid port congestion and as a possible hedge against West Coast labor contract negotiations,” Seroka said. “Consequently, those ports have substantial backlogs, while here in Los Angeles, we have very little congestion.”

Yet another driver of August’s drop: local competition from Long Beach, the port next door. A substantial volume of cargo shifted to Long Beach from Los Angeles. Long Beach imported 384,530 TEUs of cargo in August, up 2.2% from July.

Asked by American Shipper about the cause of the local shift, Seroka said, “There are some discussions on the ground between union leadership and the folks over at APMT [APM Terminals] about health and safety measures around the automated area.”

This led to a shift of around 40,000 TEUs from Los Angeles to Long Beach in August, he disclosed. (This equates to around half of LA’s sequential import drop in August versus July.) Seroka said that shift to Long Beach could be even higher this month: 60,000-80,000 TEUs.

He maintained that the shift will be temporary and the situation will “get back to normalcy between Los Angeles and Long Beach very soon.”

More LA volume weakness ahead

Seroka expects the volume pullback to continue in the months ahead.

“The bottom line is that we’re projecting lighter numbers in September and for the balance of the year,” he said. “But to keep things in perspective, even with this projected softer volume in the back half of the year, the Port of Los Angeles is headed toward the second busiest year in our history.”

Source: https://www.maritimeprofessional.com/

Supply chain software company Shifl said there had been a recent acceleration in the drop in spot rates and carriers are attempting to renegotiate long term contracts secured when rates were higher. High longterm contract rates are expected to support container line earnings well into next year, stretching the financial benefits to lines of the congestion-backed peak in rates last year.

Both Hapag-Lloyd and Yang Ming said shippers have asked to renegotiate deals, the former saying it is standing firm and the latter open to hearing customers’ requests.

“With the increasing pressure from shippers, shipping lines may not have a choice but to accede to customer demands as contract holders are known to simply shift their volumes to the spot market,” said Shabsie Levy, CEO and Founder of Shifl.

The pressure on lines and shippers alike comes from a steep drop in spot rates. Shifl’s forwarded-driven rate index Shifex recorded its lowest rate for two years on the Shanghai-LA route; at $3,500 per feu, the rate is down 80% on-year.

On the China-New York route, rates have held up slightly better but are still down 59% on-year at $7,950 per feu compare to a high of $19,600 in September 2021.

“While in July, there was a relatively steady decline in spot rates, the pace has definitely picked up as a milieu of factors continue to soften the market for containerized goods between China and the rest of the world. Tightening monetary policy, a shift in consumer spending, bloated inventories in the US, and growing geopolitical tensions between the US and China continue to play a role in the movement of rates,” said Levy.

“With the latest dramatic slump in rates, the market is closer than ever to the pre-pandemic rate levels, especially to the largest entry ports in the USA – Los Angeles and Long Beach,” said Levy.

Shifl also noted a drop in transit times on Asia-US routes as congestion—one of the factors that supported high freight rates over the past two years—begins to clear.

Transit times on the main China – LA/ Long Beach route fell by 25% in August to 24 days, levels last seen in July 2021 and moving closer to pre-pandemic levels of 16 days. That reduction is partly fuelled by a movement of cargoes from the West to East coast, however, and China-New York transit times edged up from 46 to 50 days in August.

“The ripple effect of the shift in cargoes from West Coast to East Coast is taking its biggest toll now in New York with an overflow of empties and shortage of chassis. We expect this to improve soon as lower volume forecasts will ease the pressure off the system,” said Levy.

Source: https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/containers/shippers-push-contract-renegotiations-spot-rates-tumble

The SCFI reported on Friday that the index had dropped 249.46 points to 2312.65 points from the previous week. It is the third week in a row that the SCFI has fallen in the region of 10% as container spot rates tumble steeply from the peak early this year.

It was similar picture for Drewry‘s World Container Index (WCI), which has generally shown a less steep decline in recent weeks than that registered by the SCFI. Published on Thursday the WCI fell 8% week-on-week to $4,942 per feu, some 52% below the peak of $10,377 recorded a year earlier.

Drewry reported that spot container freight rates on Shanghai – Los Angeles dropped 11% or $530 to $4,252 per feu in the last week, while on the Asia – Europe trade spot rates between Shanghai and Rotterdam fell 10% or $764 to $6,671 per feu.

The analyst expects spot rates to keep falling saying, “Drewry expects the index to decrease in the next few weeks.”

At present the WCI remains 34% higher than its five-year average of $3,692 per feu.

While different indexes show differing freight rates, all agree on a sharp decline in container spot rates, that has accelerated in recent weeks.

Analyst Xeneta noted rates from Asia to the US West Coast had seen “dramatic declines” compared to the peak recorded earlier this year. Xeneta said that since the end of March, rates from Southeast Asia to the US West Coast have fallen by 62%, while those from China have collapsed some 49%.

“Spot prices from Asia have, to be blunt, been falling considerably since May this year, with increasing rates of decline over the last few weeks,” commented Peter Sand, Chief Analyst, Xeneta on Friday. “We’re now at a point where the rates are down to their lowest level since April 2021.”

The question is how the continued plunge in spot rates will impact long-term contract rates between lines and shippers, and to what extent customers will be successful in pushing for renegotiations. Lines have been enjoying record levels of profitability with the sector raking in a massive $63.7bn profit in Q2 according to the McCown Container Report.

Xeneta’s Sand sees the situation as remaining positive for container lines at present. “We have to remember though, those rates are dropping from historical highs, so it certainly won’t be panic stations for the carriers just yet. We’ll continue watching the latest data to see if the trend continues and, crucially, how that impacts on the long-term contract market.”

A more negative picture was presented by Supply chain software company Shifl earlier this week with pressure for renegotiations from shippers. It said both Hapag-Lloyd and Yang Ming said shippers have asked to renegotiate deals, the former saying it is standing firm and the latter open to hearing customers’ requests.

“With the increasing pressure from shippers, shipping lines may not have a choice but to accede to customer demands as contract holders are known to simply shift their volumes to the spot market,” said Shabsie Levy, CEO and Founder of Shifl.

Source: https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/containers/container-spot-rates-tumble-another-97-last-week

Supply chain visibility company FourKites said it saw a significant increase in the time containers spent at Felixstowe during and after the strike, which started on 21 August.

On the date the strike started, ocean shipments had been at the port for an average of 5.3 days for FourKite’s customers, and went on to peak at 9.9 days average come 30 August.

Arrivals at Felixstowe plummeted during the two-week strike, from 20% of UK arrivals to 0%, while Southampton arrivals ramped up from 13% to 24% over the same period.

Over Felixstowe’s recovery period since the strike, containers spent on average slightly more time in major European ports including Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Hamburg and Antwerp.

The return to normal at Felixstowe comes just weeks ahead of another round of industrial action which will have a greater impact on UK supply chains. Workers at Liverpool are set to strike from 19 September to 3 October, overlapping with a strike at Felixstowe from 27 September to 5 October.

“FourKites has seen some possible initial signs of rerouting at Liverpool, where the share of port arrivals has decreased from 11% to 8% week-over-week for FourKites customers,” said the company.

Source: https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/ports/felixstowe-strike-congestion-clears-ahead-fresh-stoppages

In its first phase the port consists of three industrial berths, a Single Point Mooring (SPM) facility for the Saudi Aramco refinery, and three commercial berths for containers, general cargo and bulk goods.

The President of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, HE Eng. Khalid Al-Salem that the Port is one of the most critical enablers supporting industrial growth at The Port of Jazan City for Primary and Downstream Industries (JCPDI Port).

Eric Ip, Group Managing Director of Hutchison Ports, said, “We have been in Saudi Arabia for 22 years, and it is a very important market for Hutchison Ports. Today’s ceremony marks a new chapter for us in the Kingdom and we look forward to working closely with the Royal Commission to make Hutchison Ports Jazan a success and help JCPDI reach its full potential and contribute to the Saudi Vision 2030.”

The port will use remote-controlled cranes and state of the art systems for handling containers and bulk goods to enable electronic transations. Training programmes will be run for local talent, said Hutchison Ports Jazan CEO, Charlie Darazi.

A berth depth of 16.5m will allow containerships of over 21,000 teu to call the port, and bulk ships with capacities over 100,000 tonnes.

The Port has a total berth length of 1,250m for containers, bulk and general cargo, with a design capacity of one million teu per year and around four million tonnes of cargo, in addition to a liquid terminal for oil tankers of Saudi Aramco.

Andy Tsoi, Hutchison Ports Managing Director for Middle East and Africa said that JCPDI Port represents an exciting new chapter. He added that from a strategic standpoint, JCPDI sits at the crossroads of the busy east-west trade lane and the rapidly growing north-south trade. JCPDI also has the potential to be the Kingdom’s first port of call from East Asia. Therefore, given the talented local human capital and the continuing support of development policies, the port is very well-positioned for the future of the Kingdom’s maritime industry.

Minister of Investment, HE Eng. Khalid Al-Falih said that Saudi economy was booming, with 11% growth in Q1 2022 and growth of 21.5% in its Industrial Production Index (IPI).

Source: https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/ports/saudi-arabia-inaugurates-port-jazan

This is the second time that the Port of Singapore has received the award, the first time in 2021.

In addition, the Port of Singapore was also named “Best Seaport in Asia” for the 34th time.

These awards recognise the contributions by the Port of Singapore to support global supply chains and its leadership in driving maritime transformation.

“As a leading international maritime centre and the world’s busiest transhipment port, the Port of Singapore will continue to play our part to keep supply chains going as the global economy recovers from COVID-19,” said Teo Eng Dih, Chief Executive of Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.

“We are humbled by the affirmation from industry and thank our tripartite partners for their strong support. We will continue to uphold high service standards and drive initiatives that enable Singapore to be a more vibrant, digital and sustainable port.”

The annual AFLAS Awards is organised by freight and logistics publication, Asia Cargo News, to honour leading service providers in the supply chain community for demonstrating leadership as well as consistency in service quality, innovation, customer relationship management and reliability.

Winners were determined by votes cast by readers of the publication and announced on 7 September.

In July, Singapore secured the top spot once again in the Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development Index Report.

It was the ninth consecutive year that the report – published jointly by Chinese state news agency, Xinhua, and global maritime data provider, the Baltic Exchange – ranked Singapore as the global leading maritime centre.

Source: https://www.porttechnology.org/news/singapore-named-global-premier-port/

Evidence indicates that the world’s ports are returning to pre-pandemic levels. During the first 11 months of 2021, the value of US international freight increased by more than 22% (PDF) compared with the same 11 months in 2020. More freight means more ships docking at port. And not only are more ships docking, but their dwell times are increasing as well. The average container vessel dwell time at the top 25 US container ports was estimated at 28.1 hours in 2020. In the first half of 2021, average container vessel dwell times increased to 31.5 hours.

While this increase in activity is undoubtedly welcome, more docked ships bring a new challenge. The longer a ship is docked, the more vulnerable the port is to a cyberattack.

The Cyber-Risk to Ships

The maritime industry is especially vulnerable to cyber incidents. There are multiple stakeholders involved in the operation and chartering of a ship, which often results in a lack of accountability for the IT and OT system infrastructure and the ship’s networks. The systems may rely on outdated operating systems that are no longer supported and cannot be patched or run antivirus checks.

Going forward, this threat is expected to increase. Critical ship infrastructure related to navigation, power, and cargo management has become increasingly digitized and reliant on the Internet to perform a broad range of legitimate activities. The growing use of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) will increase the ships’ attack surface.

Common ship-based cyber vulnerabilities include the following:

Obsolete and unsupported operating systems
Unpatched system software
Outdated or missing antivirus software and protection from malware
Unsecured shipboard computer networks
Critical infrastructure continuously connected with the shore side
Inadequate access controls for third parties including contractors and service providers
Inadequately trained and/or skilled staff on cyber-risks

Troubled Waters?

Maritime cybersecurity has become a significant issue affecting ports around the world. According to the firm Naval Dome, cyberattacks on maritime transport increased by 400% in 2020. Cybersecurity risks are especially problematic to ports around the globe since docked ships regularly interact digitally with shore-based operations and service providers. This digital interaction includes the regular sending of shipping documents via email or uploading documents via online portals or other communications with marine terminals, stevedores, and port authorities.

Source: https://urgentcomm.com/2022/09/12/why-ports-are-at-risk-of-cyberattacks/

Manager of the APM Terminals Apapa, Steen Knudsen, has linked the construction of a new standard gauge line to a potential boost of the economy, as the infrastructure would provide a cost-efficient means of moving cargo from the port.

Knudsen said once the standard gauge becomes operational, more cargoes would move on rail and also help the terminal’s green agenda.

Speaking during an interactive session with journalists, Knudsen said the rail project is in line with the company’s agenda of making its entire supply chain eco-friendly.

He said while a narrow-gauge railway line connecting Kano is in operation at the terminal, the construction of standard gauge line by the Federal Government would further enhance cargo delivery through the rail.

Knudsen said APM Terminals is a global operator that has deployed international best practices in facilitating trade in Nigeria.

He said the terminal had, in the past, made much effort to incorporate environmentally friendly policies in its operations, such as collaboration with a recycling firm to recycle the terminals’ worn-out tyres into paving tiles.

Knudsen noted that the terminal’s latest environmentally friendly venture is the conversion of single used plastic into reflective coveralls.

Knudsen added that the terminal has continued to introduce new innovations to help both shipping lines and landside customers achieve improved supply chain efficiency and flexibility in a cost-effective manner.

He added that some of the terminals’ investments were also in the area of trade facilitation, noting that it is using global best practices to introduce digitalised products to ensure importers and exporters enjoy a seamless service at the terminal.

Knudsen said a berthing window has also been provided at the terminal for both deep sea vessels as well as barges, to help create more efficient flows of containers, thereby removing costs and wastes from the supply chain.

He said the company has continued to expand its barging traffic to enable it to penetrate both the east and west of the terminal and ensure customers take possession of their cargo in areas that are closer to their warehouses.

“The terminal had, last year, introduced a berthing window service to enable consignees to take prompt delivery of their cargo, by eliminating waiting time for vessels.

“The shipping lines that come in get consistent and cost-efficient service. For the Nigerian importers and exporters, it means our efficiency on the waterfront allows us to be very cost efficient in terms of facilitating their trade into the market. It is also important for the terminal to continuously focus on customer-centricity and to continuously focus on creating a consistent and safe environment,” he said.

Knudsen added that aside from its investment in equipment, the terminal is also investing heavily in manpower.

“An equally important investment is the investment into our workforce, ensuring that we continuously develop our staff mostly in terms of training, career progression and also expanding the business,” he said.

Source: https://guardian.ng/business-services/apmt-hopeful-lagos-ibadan-standard-gauge-rail-line-will-aid-cargo-movt/

During the month of July, Saudi Arabia’s ports achieved a 16% increase in cargo throughput compared with the same month in 2021, handling a total volume of 28 million tons, up from 24 million tons a year before. Statistics released by the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) reveal a 45.4% growth in general cargo traffic, to 718,082 tons, a 30.3% increase in dry bulk cargo, to 4.2 million tons, and a 19.1% surge in liquid bulk cargo, which accounted for 16.3 million tons of total throughput.

Similarly, container throughput at Saudi ports jumped 6.4% to 641,862 TEU, compared to 602,181 TEU during the same period last year. Transshipment movements were up 9.5% year-on-year at 268,000 TEU.

Automobile imports also soared to 78,438 units, rising 31% compared to the 60,052 vehicles in the equivalent period in 2021, while foodstuff volumes recorded a 40% upturn, to around 2 million tons.

Source: https://www.themaritimestandard.com/saudi-ports-register-strong-cargo-throughput-growth-in-july/

POST STATE CONTROL Archives - SHIP IP LTD

Accommodating cargo growth through the pandemic – at APM Terminals Elizabeth

Imports to Los Angeles, America’s largest port, plunged 17% in August

Demand drivers of decline

Competitive drivers of decline

More LA volume weakness ahead

Shippers push for contract renegotiations as spot rates tumble

Container spot rates tumble another 9.7% in last week

Felixstowe strike congestion clears ahead of fresh stoppages

Saudi Arabia inaugurates Port of Jazan

Singapore named global premier port

Why ports are at risk of cyberattacks

The Cyber-Risk to Ships

Troubled Waters?

APMT hopeful Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail line will aid cargo movt

SAUDI PORTS REGISTER STRONG CARGO THROUGHPUT GROWTH IN JULY

News

Maritime industry majors collaborate over cyber resilience

What is ESG? The Impact of ESG on shipping companies (MARITIME ESG)

Sustainability in Shipping Industry, ESG Performance Reporting (MARITIME ESG)

Quick Menu

Company DETAILS

ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED