26 (INFRA)


Issue 6 2018 - Freight Business Journal Philaport wins infrastructure grant


The US Department of Transportation has awarded PhilaPort (Philadelphia Regional Port Authority) a $25.5 million Infrastructure for Rebuilding America


grant to


complete the second phase of an improvement plan at its Packer Avenue Marine Terminal. The INFRA grant program aims


to address critical issues facing the nation’s aging infrastructure and PhilaPort is one of only two


ports to receive funding and the only maritime-related project to receive funding in Pennsylvania. The investment will help


modernise the terminal, including a deeper berth (45 feet) to match the depth of the Delaware River’s main channel; two crane conversions from diesel to electric; and demolition, relocation and construction of a new temperature-controlled warehouse.


In 2017, PhilaPort container


cargoes grew by 19%, ahead of all US east coast ports, said the authority. Packer Avenue Marine Terminal (PAMT) also handled its largest vessel at 12,200teu. A $392 million main channel


deepening project is close to completion, while cargo volumes in the port of Philadelphia are surging. Executive director and chief executive, Jeff Theobald,


Raising the game


Writing in FBJ’s sister publication, FBJ North America at the beginning of 2018, correspondent Peter Buxbaum said


that raising


the bridge roadbed had the immediate effect of attracting a new generation of giant containerships to


the port,


with the prospect of increasing cargo volumes - but also port congestion. As early as August 2017, the


port broke all records with an increase of 7.5% in cargo, while the number of vessels serviced fell by 18, testimony to larger volumes per ship. The 10,400teu Zim Antwerp


docked at Maher Terminals in Elizabeth on 26 June, the first neopanamax vessel


to dock


there, arriving in New York with around 4,200teu. Around 2,400 container


moves were completed during the vessel’s 24-hour stay in the port. George Goldman, president


of Zim USA told reporters that he


expected the Asia-East


Coast trade “to continue to grow following the expansion of the Panama Canal.” However, that’s exactly what


has some stakeholders at the Port of New York and New Jersey worried. It’s not that the additional trade is unwelcome— the Antwerp’s 2,400 container moves presented no challenge to Maher Terminals. The problem, they fret, may come when multiple


giant vessels


discharge many times the Antwerp’s load—all at the same time. Could NYNJ encounter the same congestion problems as the US west coast ports that have historically handled the


anticipating cargo trends -witness the decades-long planning process for raising the Bayonne Bridge—and so does Port Newark Container


and the acquisition of


additional equipment. The facility has been working to improve systems, implement technologies,


and The transportation task


The New York area supports the largest and densest consumer market in the US. The regional freight system moves over 400 million tons of goods per year valued at roughly $720 billion. That volume is expected to grow 35% by 2040, according to a recent report from the New York City Economic Development Corp.


This raises the question of


how these increased volumes are going to be handled. Trucks transport over 90% of goods moved in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan region, an unsustainable


level given


environmental concerns and the wear and tear on highway infrastructure. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is focused


on “anything we can do to take cargo off the road,” - developing rail and water alternatives - according to Bethann Rooney, assistant director in the PA’s Port Commerce Department. Currently, 5% of goods are


moved by rail on the New Jersey side of the harbour and only 3% in New York City and Long Island. Around 14% of containers that arrive at the port are transferred to rail for destinations in the Midwest, Southwest, and New England. These meagre numbers


actually represent improvement, as on-dock rail liſts increased 65% between 2005 and 2015 and intermodal traffic in the port grew by 22% between 2013 and 2015. The New York State Department of Transportation


projects that rail freight tonnage through the state will grow by 118% by 2040. This growth is attributable to $600 million in investments in the Port Authority ExpressRail yards in Elizabeth, Newark, and Staten Island, as well as significant private investments made by the three Class I railroads that service the region: Norfolk Southern, CSX, and Canadian Pacific. Inbound shipments of lumber


and wood have increased significantly due to strong growth in the local housing and construction markets. That cargo is oſten moved across the harbour using a car float service from New Jersey terminals to the 65th Street Rail Yard in Brooklyn. This hybrid rail/water operation


eliminated 1,200 truck trips in 2016. There is limited capacity for


additional rail freight facilities in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan region, noted the NYCEDC report, a matter currently under consideration by the Port Authority as it develops a new 30- year master plan. Goals for that endeavour include land- use optimization and “getting more bang for the buck,” said Rooney. That includes growing the number of car float services and building capacity for barge transfers


into the regional


transportation network. “We can move cargo closer to


its final destination by using the waterways,” said Rooney. “That represents the one remaining untapped area.”


invest in


bulk of transpacific imports? However, PANYNJ prides itself on being proactive in


said: “We have a lot of exciting developments PhilaPort occurring at the same time, record cargo growth, preparation for the deepened channel and the arrival of our new cranes… and we want to make sure we support the surge in cargo with proper training and landside and infrastructure improvements.” In February the first two of


four super post-Panamax cranes arrived at PAMT and several 11,000teu vessels started calling in December.


Terminal, according to Chris Garbarino, the company’s vice president of operations. The facility committed to a $500-million expansion program in 2011, which included infrastructure improvements


///US EAST COAST >> 25


investing in the port


include


APM Terminals with a new truck gate complex, four new cranes that will allow the terminal to serve the larger ships, and a new truck appointment system that will be implemented when the gate complex is complete. Port Newark Container


Terminal is expanding truck lanes as part of its new gate complex, developing an additional 30 acres of terminal


infrastructure which would improve throughput, as have other


terminals around the


harbour. What bothers most are


drayage and driver issues and gate and terminal operations.


space, adding an additional 20 straddle carriers and four Super Post Panamax cranes that will allow the terminal to serve the larger ships. A truck appointment system will be implemented when the gate complex is complete. Maher Terminal is increasing


the height of four ship to shore cranes to accommodate larger vessels, investing in additional straddle carriers and deepening an additional berth to 50 feet.


must prioritize reducing the time for pickups and drop offs” to make it worth their while. A truck reservation


system has produced some improvement at the GCT Bayonne terminal, but not everyone is crazy about reservations systems. For all the infrastructure


The expanded Panama Canal could put pressure on US ports.


(photo by Bernal Saborio)


“The number of drivers willing to service containers continues to dwindle,” said Jeffrey Bader, president of the Association of Bi-State Motor Carriers. “We


improvements, some shippers remain anxious that the situation at the port. Sharon Schneider, director of operations and logistics at Marc Fisher Footwear in Greenwich, Connecticut, reported to the Federal Maritime Commission at the time that the company could pull a container from the Los Angeles pier in two to three business days six years ago but that it now takes an average of six days. “We still enjoy two to three


days in Port Newark,” she added, “but it is a matter of time before we re-live the LA congestion nightmare in New Jersey.”


Challenges remain on the roads


Trucking services in the US continue to be a challenge, with driver shortages and lack of capacity warns the local office of UK-based forwarder Woodland. It adds that most industry


analysts agree that the problems will only increase through the remainder of 2018. The trucking industry is short of about 50,000 drivers, it says, quoting chief economist for the American Trucking Associations, Bob Costello. Driver shortages, the US


equivalent of the digital tachograph (the Electronic Logging Device) and increasing waiting time at terminals combined with a strong economy have all contributed to push demand beyond the trucking industry’s capacity. The problems are particularly acute in


the Midwest and Southeast areas of the country. Woodland adds that advanced


booking is very important for smooth movement of cargo. This is especially critical for ocean full container movements for which there is the additional challenge of chassis and container equipment availability. In the Midwest/Southeast particular,


in availability of


containers and chassis has been a significant contributor to delayed export bookings with container hauliers requiring two to four weeks advance notice to secure a booking. It is also critical to make bookings


for cargo containing hazardous material well in advance and to ensure that associated documents is from initial booking.


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