PORT OF VIRGINIA\\\ By Karen E. Thuermer


The Port of Virginia is “cooking on all cylinders” with economic development and inland connections. The port handled over 2 million TEUS in Fiscal Year 2019, and port officials are focusing on when the port could handle 5 million. Already the port is doubling its stack capacity and investing in rail yards with the latest soſtware and hardware systems. “We are playing right into what


carriers want,” states Russell J. Held, vice president of economic development for the Virginia Port Authority (VPA).


Valuable assets


Factoring into all this are VPA’s assets: the Virginia Inland Port (VIP) in Front Royal; Richmond Marine Terminal (RMT) in Richmond; Norfolk International Terminals (NIT) in Norfolk; Virginia International Gateway (VIG) in Portsmouth; Newport News Marine Terminal in Newport News; and Portsmouth Marine Terminal in Portsmouth. Both VIG and NIT are the


recipients of major expansions. VIG has been undergoing a three- year, $320 million expansion project, which is nearing completion with its recently


opened on-dock rail yard and 20,000 feet of new track and four cantilever rail-mounted gantry cranes (RMGs). When complete, the VIG expansion will increase the port’s overall annual container capacity by next year by 40%, or 1 million TEUs. Phase 1 of a $375 million


capacity expansion is complete at NIT. In March, 12 new container stacks began operation there. The centerpiece of the expansion is the construction of 30 semi- automated containers stacks at South NIT, served by 60 new RMGs. All totaled, the project will expand NIT’s annual throughput capacity by 400,000 TEUS bringing it to a capacity of 1.25 million TEUs, a 46% increase. In the future, VPA customers


will also benefit from Craney Island Marine Terminal -- the largest


fully permitted port


expansion project on the East Coast. When operational, it will more than double VPA’s capacity of which half will be handled by rail. Plans call for extending the existing Commonwealth Rail Line from State Route 164 to the terminal through a project known as the Craney Island Connector. This will create dual rail access on- dock with Norfolk Southern (NS) and CSX.


VPA’s Virginia International Gateway. (Photo by Karen E. Thuermer)


The terminal will be designed


to handle ultra-large container vessels via a 55-foot navigation channel, direct interchange to the interstate highway system, and double-stack intermodal rail service. The terminal will be planned as a semi-automated operation, with a mix of manual and automated container handling equipment.


Inland port advantages


Helping lay the foundation for increased international trade is the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), which is charged with bringing companies to Virginia. Consequently, Virginia has had scores of wins, including Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Bacountry. com, Dollar Tree, Lidi, Emser Tile, Lumber Liquidators, and Fortessa Tableware – all of which use the Port of Virginia. Fortessa Tableware Solutions,


LLC, which is headquartered in Ashburn, VA, and operates a 230,000 square-foot distribution center in a free trade zone not far from the VIP, does business with 160 difference factories worldwide and exports its finished products to just as many. Debera Taylor, Vice President, Operations reveals that the company has 3,000 to 4,000 active SKUs that it sells to customers. Product is customized and decorated according to customer specifications. With customers like Amazon, Pottery Barn, William Sonoma, Pier 1 Imports, the company holds 30% of the retail market. Taylor explains that Fortessa


imports glassware from Germany, Holland and Italy; and dishware from Korea, India, Indonesia, and China. Containers are trucked to the DC company’s facility in Winchester 220 miles northwest from Port of Virginia terminals in southeastern Virginia. While the company once


utilized VIP, Taylor explains that today shipments are trucked. “Due to customer demands, we operate a tight supply chain with a 12-week lead time,” she says. “Our customers need product fast.” But the company is considering


using VIP again for glassware imports because of a Virginia tax credit for barge or rail usage (BRU). That tax credit offers $25 per TEU, 16 tons of noncontainerized


Amazon operates a 1 million square foot DC in Chester outside of Richmond. (Photo by Karen E. Thuermer)


traffic than Baltimore,” he says. In 2018, VIP handled 38,000


TEUs, which represents an 8% growth over 2019. Recently, VIP received $23 million in grants to expand its capacity for containers. This means additional ground space, three more tracks (bringing the total to eight), and two three-


General Manager, Amazon. The Richmond area has


the advantage of being at the crossroads of Interstates 95 and 64, rail served by NS and CSX, and is near the Port of Virginia. Unique to Richmond is


the inland Richmond Marine Terminal (RMT). Adjacent to


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Interstate 95 south of downtown, RMT has 300,105 square feet of warehouse space and a 1,570- foot wharf. RMT handles barges carrying containers, temperature- controlled containers, breakbulk, bulk, and neo-bulk cargo. The facility is owned by the


City of Richmond and leased to VPA for 40 years. “The VPA is investing millions of dollars into RMT, including a $4.2 million mobile harbor crane, to increase efficiencies,” says Held. RMT received much attention


Lumber Liquidators operates a 1 million sq. ft. warehouse in Sandston, VA. (Photo by Karen E. Thuermer)


cargo, or one unit of roll-on/roll- off cargo in excess of the number of containers shipped by barge or rail by the taxpayer during the immediately preceding taxable year. The credit is $50 per TEU in excess of the base cargo. “And it’s amazing how quickly


containers are turned around at the VIP Terminal due to straddle carriers and automation,” she adds.


VIP is served by NS, with


intermodal service to Harrisburg, PA and the New York/New Jersey region. Containerized rail service is provided five days a week to VIP from both NIT and VIG. Held points out that prior to


the opening of VIP, the Port of Baltimore handled four times the number of container traffic than the Port of Virginia. “Today the situation has reversed with Virginia seeing four times more


high end straddle carriers, bringing its total to six. Part of those funds include a $15.5 million federal grant to be used to improve traffic flow and build a highway bridge that will run above existing railroad tracks. “Currently, VIP handles 80%


imports that are manufactured into finished goods, and 20% in exports – all agriculture related,” Held adds. “Shipments are consolidated at the VIP.” In addition, VIP operates as a


free trade zone and has its own customs facility, features that are attractive to Fortessa. “VIP’s beauty is its simplicity,” Held says.


Richmond Marine Terminal


Amazon operates a 1 million square foot DC in Chester outside of Richmond where serves a 300- to 500-mile radius within one day. “We bring in freight from


Norfolk and more from rail across the United States,” comments Dan Miller,


Director of Operations/


six years ago when Stone Brewing shipped four brewing tanks, each weighing 12.25 tons, via barge up the James River to its new brewery in Richmond. Today Richmond Express


barge service operates overnight service between Norfolk and Richmond. Last year it moved some 31,500 containers, a 31.5% jump from 2017.


A growing


number of ship lines now issue bills of lading directly to RMT. Officials expect volumes to jump given the state’s tax incentives. One of the biggest customers


at RMT is Lumber Liquidators, which transports 100% of its imports from the Port of Virginia to Richmond by barge. The journey averages 90 nautical miles with the barge taking 12 hours upriver to Richmond and 12 hours downriver to Norfolk. “We took 100% of our imports


through the RMT last year,” said Chuck Weigand, transportation vice president, Lumber Liquidators. “We take advantage of incentive tax rebates for using barge.” The company distributes


all products from its 1 million square-foot warehouse via truck to stores throughout the Eastern US and as far west as the Dakotas and east Texas. The company is North America’s largest specialty retailer of hardwood flooring. Weigand revealed that three-


quarters of the company’s ocean traffic comes via Shanghai, with the remainder from Europe, South America, and elsewhere in Asia. Dollar Tree, which has its


headquarters and an adjoining 400,000 square-foot warehouse in Chesapeake just south of NIT and VIG, sources 40% of its products from overseas. “A large portion of our products


are shipped via rail, which goes a long distance, i.e. Chicago,” says Kevin


Jones, vice president,


Inbound Transportation. The company utilizes NIT, VIG, and VIP.


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