Marine Terminals plans Mexico terminal, “remains committed” to U.S.

Marine Terminals plans Mexico terminal, “remains committed” to U.S.

Marine Terminals plans Mexico terminal, “remains committed” to U.S.

   Oakland-based terminal operator Marine Terminals Corp. said Thursday it remains committed to U.S. West Coast ports despite its plan to start marine terminal operations in Mexico.
   Reacting to media report that it will operate a terminal in Ensenada, on the Pacific coast of Mexico,    MTC executive vice president Walter Romanowski said: “MTC is looking at a number of alternatives to deal with transportation infrastructure problems, including the development of alternative gateways such as Mexico.” However, he said MTC has reached no conclusions and has had no specific discussions or agreement with any customers until now.
   MTC president Doug Tilden said the company is “very committed” to its core operations on the U.S. West Coast. “We believe that we will be able to achieve significant improvements in terminal throughput as we implement new technologies in 2005,” he added.
   The company said it and many other terminal operators and shipping lines involved in the U.S. West Coast ports are concerned about the long-term congestion and strain on the area’s infrastructure.
   “Many infrastructure issues are outside of their control, yet impact their ability to service their customers efficiently,” MTC said.
   Reports that MTC is looking south of the border to develop a Mexican West Coast terminal follow the announcement last December that mega-port operator Hutchison Port Holdings is conducting a feasibility study to develop a Mexican container terminal and rail link to the United States.
   Ocean carriers have said they expect alternative gateways to attract business because of the congestion in the Californian ports.
   “When we look at the totality of the infrastructure that supports the nation’s foreign trade, we are deeply concerned that the infrastructure will support even modest growth,” Tilden said. He estimates that a 10 percent growth rate in nationwide box volume would require “additional infrastructure capacity equal to the current capacity of the ports of Savannah and Tacoma combined every year.”
   “I do not think that any reasonable person could believe that we can accomplish this in the current environment of negligible port growth and serious funding issues related to inland infrastructure,” Tilden stressed.
   Oakland-based MTC has stevedoring and terminal operations in more than 26 U.S. West Coast locations and five East Coast ports.