Emerging markets key to 11% third quarter rise, in container throughput for APM Terminals.By Paul Richardson, AJOTAP Moller-Maersk affiliate, APM Terminals global port and terminal network witnessed an 11% increase in container throughput during the third quarter 2011 compared with the same quarter last year – statistical figures that outshone worldwide market growth in container volume transportation. Importantly, given the recent acquisitions and disposals in the APM port and terminal network, Q3/2011 throughput volume growth on Q3/2010 comes in at 10% and amounted to 8.6 million teu in the third quarter this year. Over the high-growth emerging market sectors such as China, southeast Asia and Africa, APM Terminals saw its container throughput grow by a staggering 14% during the first nine-months of 2011 compared with volumes handled in the same period in 2010. Underscoring the fact that APM is not just a Moller-Maersk affiliate dedicated to handling Maersk container volumes, the terminal operator has attracted an increased number of other shipping lines, and now boasts around 46% of handled volumes now comes from the latter sector. With much of the present and future focus on emerging markets and which geographical areas show the biggest growth potential, it is interesting to note that executives at APM see the eastern Mediterranean and Central America as the major plus areas in this sector. Speaking to The American Journal of Transportation, APM’s Director of Port Investments for the Europe/Mediterranean areas, John Trenchard, underlined the importance of the Turkish market, and the potential that exists for future trade development. Said Trenchard, “There is a huge growth potential in Turkey, ports in the country are well established, but will have to increase access and productivity in order to meet the challenge of handling increased container volumes as the local economy continues to grow. “The market for containerised trade in Turkey is concentrated in three main regions, with Istanbul accounting for around 65% of port traffic, and Izmir and Mersin, each around 17%. Trenchard continued by emphasising the important role the younger generation of Turkey and North Africa will play in these countries’ future development, and how APM Terminals is embracing this potential through its port investments in the region. “We want to create jobs and opportunities for the young people of the region and ensure that we as APM Terminals can move towards the overall goal through investments in a business we know and understand well.” His points are adequately emphasised through consideration of the latest containership newbuilding statistics. By 2014, some 260 vessels of 10,000 teu and over, will have been delivered, and with the North Europe potential of swallowing most, if not all of this capacity, limited, Turkey and the eastern Mediterranean are well placed to underscore their rightful potential as the obvious conduit for such a capacity influx. APM Terminals has already established itself as a major name in the Mediterranean with involvement in the operations of terminals in Port Said, Gioia Tauro and Algeciras, as well as Tangier. Importantly however, these ports are high level capacity transhipment locations labelled as being far different from ports in Turkey, and other APM operations in the Mediterranean, such as Poti in Georgia, and the new terminal development at Vado in Italy. Such ports are referred to by Trenchard as being “Gateway Terminals” and likened to APM’s most recent move, which saw investment in Sweden and at Gothenburg’s, Skandia Container Terminal. APM Terminals will manage the terminal under the new agreement for 25 years, and has pledged to invest over US$115m in the next five years improve the terminal’s competiveness in the overall European market. Far distanced geographically from Turkey and Sweden, is the Central America country of Costa Rica, and it is here that APM Terminals has identified an important location