MCI’s new factory is the first facility for making refrigerated containers outside of China.
Maersk Container Industry (MCI) has delivered its first refrigerated containers from a new factory in San Antonio, Chile.
“For many years, China has up until now been the only country with reefer container production,” MCI said of the new facility.
“In this sweet spot of fruit exporters, we have placed the factory right where the demand is. For the first time ever in South America, reefer containers can go straight ‘from factory to farm’,” said Stig Hoffmeyer, chief executive officer of MCI. “Offering the Star Cool Integrated reefers locally to shipping lines, farmers, fruit distributors and leasing companies, will have a financial benefit counted in thousands of dollars per reefer, and millions for the industry in total.”
Built at a cost of $200 million, and employing 1,000 workers, Hoffmeyer said production at the San Antonio factory will be gradually ramped up to 25,000 refrigerated containers annually. The factory is designed so that it could be expanded and produce 40,000 containers annually by 2020.
Soren Leth Johannsen, the chief commercial officer for MCI, said the global reefer container fleet reached approximately 2.5 million TEUs at the end of 2014 and is expected to exceed 3 million TEUs by 2018. Most reefers are 40-foot containers so he said there are actually 1.3 million reefer containers in operation today.
About 40 percent of the total refrigerated container fleet is employed in the South American trades, though Johannsen noted this can vary based on many factors including the global economy, climate events such as droughts, and even animal diseases like “mad cow.”
MCI has a factory in Quingdao, China that makes refrigerated containers and “Star Cool” refrigeration units, and has about a 25 percent share of the refrigerated container market. MCI also builds dry containers in Dongguan, China.
“Every year, more than 100,000 reefer containers are needed in Chile to cater for the large export. Including Colombia, Ecuador and Peru it amounts to approximately 300,000 reefer containers,” pointing to information provided by the consulting firm Seabury.
Johannsen explained that the 100,000 and 300,000 container that are need on the West Coast of South America represent the difference between refrigerated imports and exports in the region, with most containers in the South American trades being used over and over again.
He noted that reefer containers have operational lives of 12 to 14 years.
Steven Blust, the president of the Institute of International Container Lessors in Washington, said that most container lessors have refrigerated containers in their fleets will welcome the addition of another manufacturing source. Citing information from the London-based consultants Drewry, he said about 43 percent of refrigerated containers are owned by leading companies and 57 percent by ocean carriers.
Drewry estimated that at the end of 2014, the global reefer fleet was 2.42 million TEUs and that 250,000 TEUs would be added, with approximately 110,000 TEUs for replacement and 140,000 TEUs for fleet expansion, he said.
