At the Port of Mobile, a container terminal is blossoming just as boldly as the radiant pink azaleas for which the Alabama city is known.
The MSC Texas, with a capacity of more than 8,000 TEUs, is worked at APM Terminals Mobile.
The MSC Texas, with a capacity of more than 8,000 TEUs, is worked at APM Terminals Mobile.
Since opening in September 2008, APM Terminals Mobile has been handling a growing volume of containers filled with a wide spectrum of cargos to and from the U.S. Southeast and Midwest and beyond. But, according to the man who manages the facility, it’s just been “scratching the surface.” Armed with plans for tripling its contingent of cranes and more than quadrupling its throughput, Brian Harold, managing director of APM Terminals Mobile, is working with public- and private-sector partners to see the facility becoming an even more flourishing force along the Gulf. “A number of shippers have realized that Mobile is the best option for shipping their cargo,” Harold told the American Journal of Transportation. “We’ve seen tremendous growth, especially over the past three or four years.” In 2013, APM Terminals Mobile handled 240,000 twenty-foot-equivalent container units of cargo. That was up 10 percent from 2012, not as much as the 30 percent gains experienced each of the prior two years, but probably more impressive as last year’s gain was organic growth, with existing customers in existing trade lanes, while the increases the two preceding years were propelled by additions of services and carriers. But, according to Harold, “We’re really just scratching the surface in terms of what we’re able to handle at the Port of Mobile. There are a lot of big things on the horizon and a lot of opportunities for expansion.” At full buildout, he said, the terminal should be able to handle 1 million TEUs a year – more than four times the current volume – thanks to continuing efficiency enhancements and planned expansion onto 40 acres to the immediate south of the present 95-acre footprint. Plans call for adding four more cranes, probably two at a time, to the two post-Panamax, 19-containers-wide-outreach gantries now in operation at the terminal’s present 2,000-foot-long berthing area. “We have a lot of expansion plans, us and the port authority,” Harold said, referring to the Alabama State Port Authority, which in May authorized acquisition of an additional 35-plus-acre tract to the north of APM Terminals Mobile plus 63 more acres along Interstate 10, adjacent to the authority’s logistics park. Already, the authority is building a 20-acre intermodal container transfer facility (see story on page 2) to take full advantage of Port of Mobile service by five Class I railroads. The rail service – by CSX, Norfolk Southern, Canadian National, Kansas City Southern and BNSF railways – combines with ready highway access and 45-foot channel and quayside depths to make APM Terminals Mobile attractive to shippers moving goods to and from markets throughout the Southeast and Midwest. The terminal is equipped to efficiently handle ships with capacities of as many as 8,500 TEUs or greater. More local cargo is also driving growth, with automaking and other manufacturing proliferating in the Southeast. Auto parts are a significant inbound commodity at the Mobile terminal, joined by furniture, a full range of consumer goods and aerospace components, with the latter cargo to further burgeon after Airbus next year brings online its A320 aircraft final assembly line 3 miles from the port. A favorable balance of imports and exports is maintained, with forestry products, steel, petrochemical goods, refrigerated agricultural commodities and cotton all in the outbound mix. Harold said he believes superb service has been integral to growth at APM Terminals Mobile. “I think labor in the Port of Mobile is the best in the United States in terms of productivity and work ethic,” he said, pointing to the ability to turn 37 container moves per hour per crane. Harold added that much focus is placed upon service to the trucking community, with state-of-industry gate and yard systems and commitment to provide good-order equipment. Solid working relationships with the trucking community, railroads, the port authority, Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, state government and others are given by Harold as another factor in the ability of APM Terminals Mobile to continue to increase tonnage while creating well-paying jobs. “We’re very pleased to have a community such as Mobile,” Harold said, “where the port is the lifeblood of the city, which embraces the growing volume moving through the port.”