APMT Mobile to gain new business

Walmart is opening an import distribution center in Mobile, Ala., which is expected to boost cargo volumes at APM Terminals Mobile by 10-20 percent.    APMT Mobile is expecting a significant boost in containerized cargo volumes from Walmart’s import distribution center being constructed in Mobile.
   Brian Harold, head of APMT Mobile, told American Shipper the terminal expects volumes to increase by 10 to 20 percent once Walmart’s distribution center is fully operational, which is expected to be by mid-2018.
   The $135 million distribution center will provide more than 550 local full time jobs and will be the retailer’s fourth distribution center in the state.
   Harold said not only will the new distribution center result in higher amounts of containerized import cargo, but it will help export markets in Alabama by providing enough empty containers.
   APMT Mobile experienced a 19 percent year-over-year boost in containerized cargo volumes in 2016, handling 277,307 TEUs, and is nearing completion of its $47.5 million phase 2 expansion project, according to a release issued by the Port of Mobile on Wednesday.
   The 95-acre terminal, which opened in 2008 with a depth of 45 feet, is currently equipped with two ship-to-shore cranes with an 18-row reach.
   Phase 2 will add two super post-Panamax cranes with a 22-row reach, capable of handling 14,000-TEU ships, and 20 acres of developed land to the container stacking yard by this June. Phase 2 will boost the terminal’s annual handling capacity from 350,000 TEUs to 500,000 TEUs.
   APMT Mobile is the only terminal at the Port of Mobile specializing in containerized operations, but some containers come in on breakbulk ships. Harold said common containerized imports into APMT Mobile include auto parts, since Alabama is an automotive manufacturing state, and retail goods; and common containerized exports from the terminal include forestry products, petrochemicals, resins, steel and frozen poultry.
   Beyond phase 2, the terminal has the potential to build out even further to have an annual handling capacity of 1.5 million TEUs.