APM Terminals expands, revamps U.S. terminals

APM Terminals expands, revamps U.S. terminals    APM Terminals, the ports arm of the AP. Moller/Maersk group, is expanding and revamping its container terminals on the East and West coast of the United States.
   Tony Scioscia, president of APM Terminals North America, told the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey’s port industry day in Bayonne, N.J. that port infrastructures “must change to handle more volume in the existing port space.”
   APM Terminals will expand its terminal in Port Elizabeth, N.J., from 266 acres to 350 acres and repave the terminal yard to allow grounded container operations. Scioscia also said that the terminal operator is “redoing all berths,” replacing all cranes, and adding on-dock rail at the terminal.
   APM Terminals has outgrown its current 50-acre facility in Norfolk, Va., said Scioscia, adding that the lease for the facility comes up in four years. APM Terminals would like to operate its own terminal in Cox, a neighboring location currently undeveloped.
   “The property we acquired is still in the permit process and there are still a number of approvals to obtain before any shovel goes into the ground,” Scioscia said, commenting on the Cox project.
   “In the South Atlantic, we are still studying our options in Charleston and Savannah,” he added.
   On the U.S. West Coast, APM Terminals plans to add another 145 acres next year to its giant “Pier 400” Los Angeles terminals, which opened in 2002 with 345 acres.
   In the port of Oakland, Calif., APM Terminals is in the planning process of consolidating two facilities into one and adding more space.
   APM Terminals handled 18.5 million TEUs worldwide in 2002 and is currently the world’s third largest container terminal group by volume.