N.Y.-.N.J. port modifies infrastructure fees

N.Y.-.N.J. port modifies infrastructure fees    The Port Authority New York and New Jersey's board of commissioners has adopted a plan to help pay for infrastructure improvements and security costs, eliminating a fees for lifting containers on and off intermodal trains and those associated with its SeaLink security card system.
   Instead the port authority will assess a 'cargo facility charge' against all cargo that moves through its facilities, be it containers, automobiles, or breakbulk or bulk cargo.
   The port will end its $57.50-per-lift assessment on containers handled at the port's ExpressRail ramps, and will begin collecting fees of $4.95-per-TEU on containerized cargo, $1.11 per vehicle, and 13 cents per metric ton of bulk and breakbulk cargo.
   The charge will be used to pay for road and rail infrastructure as well as security, which has been intensified since the 9/11 attacks. The new cargo facility charge will generate about $26 million per year compared to $20.5 million from the ExpressRail fee.
   Only 12 percent to 13 percent of the cargo moving through the port arrives or departs by rail, and the port expects the change in fees will enlarge that share by 2 percent to 3 percent.
   The port has spent $454 million on its on-dock ExpressRail infrastructure since 2000 and this week approved plans to add capacity in Port Newark. It also plans to construct an ExpressRail facility in Jersey City where the Global Container Terminal is being enlarged.
   The port said the new cargo facility charge would help recover capital expenditures incurred to construct ExpressRail, noting that in addition to those who directly utilize the rail system, 'given the longstanding issues of road congestion in the port, those who ship by truck have benefited from the investment in the ExpressRail system and continue to do so. Accordingly, it is fair and appropriate that they share in the cost of the investment.'
   The port also said the fee would be used on road improvements. On Tuesday the agency's board approved plans to upgrade the widening of McLester Street in the Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal at a cost of $30 million, and widen and realign Port Street and Brewster Road at a cost of $34.5 million. Those two projects complement another $31.5 million project to realign a sharp curve on North Avenue East and McLester Street at the Elizabeth Marine Terminal, which is 65 percent done and scheduled for completion in December 2011.
   'Changing rates is never an easy decision to make, particularly in an uncertain economic climate. However, I support laying this groundwork to support port-specific infrastructure improvements and provide a dedicated stream of revenue for current and future projects. This initiative will also make our express rail system more competitive and the port's current rail users should see an immediate benefit in the form of lower rates,' said Joseph Curto, president of the New York Shipping Association, a group that represents marine terminals and steamship lines that call the Port of New York and New Jersey.
   Containerized cargo at port authority facilities is expected to be
about 5.1 million TEU this year, about double what it was in 1998. ' Chris Dupin