Port of Miami Terminal Operating Company, the only non-carrier affiliated terminal, saw its volumes double to 22,225 TEUs, the largest percentage gain among the three container terminals at the South Florida port.
PortMiami moved 85,872 standard container units across its three cargo terminals in October, an 11.6 percent gain over the same month in 2014, according to the latest figures provided by the port authority.
The big winner was the Port of Miami Terminal Operating Company (POMTOC), the only non-carrier affiliated terminal, which saw its volume double to 22,225 TEUs.
The double-digit cargo growth last month continues PortMiami’s rebound from a couple of down years. During the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, box volume bounced up 15 percent to 1 million TEUs, which officials attributed to diversion of Asia cargo from West Coast ports to avoid congestion, and new capabilities that allow for larger vessels and more efficient inland transportation.
Last summer, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed dredging the main harbor channel to 50 feet, a full eight feet of extra clearance that allows vessels to carry more heavy cargo and increases supply chain productivity.
A year earlier, city and state authorities opened a new tunnel connecting the port directly to Interstate 95 so that trucks, buses and cars don’t have to wind through crowded downtown streets and take the bridge to the man-made island that the port sits on. And in 2014, PortMiami’s rail partner completed the buildout of on-dock tracks to accommodate intermodal trains bringing containers in and out of the port.
POMTOC, which is owned by Ports America, Eller-ITO Stevedoring and Florida Stevedoring, had its best fiscal year in almost a decade, helping PortMiami reach the 1 million TEU threshold.
The terminal handled 225,000 TEUs compared to 113,000 YEUs in 2014 and 105,000 TEUs in 2013.
PortMiami Director Juan Kuryla told American Shipper that POMTOC’s results were due to a long-term lease renewal it signed last year for its terminal. The resulting sense of continuity encouraged ocean carriers to commit services to the terminal to load and unload their vessels, he said.
In fact, the world’s two largest box-ship operators, Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Co., began calling POMTOC in the past year. Maersk vessels previously were serviced at the South Florida Container Terminal – where CMA CGM, the third-largest liner carrier, hasa majority stake in managing the facility and partners with Maersk’s sister company, APM Terminals, to carry out the actual stevedoring activity. Maersk bid out some of its terminal needs after recently creating the 2M Alliance with MSC.
Although Maersk and APM Terminals are owned by the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, the ocean line determines which terminals to use based on the best operational fit and profit potential.
“I think it speaks to the fact that POMTOC put together a nice proposal,” Kuryla said of Maersk’s decision to relocate.
POMTOC’s business took a hit in 2009 when CMA CGM took over the SFCT, which was previously leased to Maersk, and moved its cargo there.
Evergreen Line, China Shipping and Maersk Line subsidiary Safmarine already are POMTOC customers and PortMiami is working to help the terminal bring in other lines, such as others that belong to the CKYHE Alliance of COSCO, “K” Line, Yang Ming, Hanjin and Evergreen, according to Kuryla.
Last year, the South Florida Container Terminal processed about 312,000 TEUs and Seaboard Marine, which has a dedicated terminal operation for its ships, did about 470,000 TEUs.
(Read more about PortMiami’s recent successes and new plans to upgrade facilities in the American Shipper November feature, “PortMiami enters ‘big ship’ era,” also available in the digital edition of the magazine).
PortMiami October box volume rises 11.6%
