CUT shifts from Long Beach to L.A.

CUT shifts from Long Beach to L.A.    Operators of a longtime container terminal in the Port of Long Beach will switch to the Port of Los Angeles toward the end of 2010.
   The Los Angeles Harbor Commission voted this week to sublet a portion of APM Terminals giant Pier 400 terminal in Los Angeles to California United Terminals, which has operated on a 130-acre site in Long Beach for more than three decades.
   CUT, which was operating on a month-to-month lease with the Port of Long Beach, eventually would have needed to relocate to accommodate Long Beach's massive Middle Harbor Redevelopment Project, which will incorporate three smaller container terminals in one larger facility.
   According to a report by Pacific Maritime Magazine, CUT handled about 390,000 TEUs in 2009, though its volume will likely be much higher this year given the significant rebound in trade through Southern California ports. The terminal handles calls from New World Alliance carriers APL, Hyundai Merchant Marine and MOL. CUT's parent company is Hyundai.
   APL and MOL already operate their own affiliated terminals in the Port of Los Angeles.
   According to the PMM report, CUT will be able to sublet as much as 200 acres from Pier 400, the largest container terminal in the two ports. The report also suggested that Long Beach can offset the lost volume from CUT with volume from new services from Maersk Line and Matson that could add 500,000 TEUs annually.