Launched in the fall of 2011, the SCPA’s truck program provides truck owners who are frequent users of the Port of Charleston’s facilities a financial incentive to replace pre-1994 model trucks with 2004 or newer models. Eligible truck owners can get a $10,000 incentive, plus the scrap value of their pre-1994 truck, to use toward the purchase of a newer, cleaner truck.

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) has awarded the SCPA $145,000 from an EPA diesel-emissions reduction grant to continue the program. The grant funds cover half of the incentive for the program, with the SCPA funding the remaining $5,000 per truck.  

Importantly, the program helps make upgraded equipment attainable and financially viable for all truck owners, both companies and independent owner-operators. To date, 57 local truckers have taken advantage of the program to upgrade to newer, cleaner and more fuel-efficient rigs.

“It is important that we have both a vibrant port contributing jobs and economic opportunity as well as a healthy environment. For this reason, we partnered with DHEC six years ago to reduce air emissions by trucks and equipment here at our facilities, while we also supported international efforts toward cleaner fuel for ships that call our port,” said Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the SCPA. “We are very proud to be considered a leader in the port industry in the Southeast for environmental efforts.

“Half of all air emissions come from mobile sources. We are fortunate to be able to use this money to support a program that has a direct and immediate effect on the air quality in Charleston. Every little bit helps,” said DHEC Director Catherine Templeton. “This continued partnership is an excellent example of collaboration to improve both the economy and environment.”

The SCPA has committed to eliminate 85 percent of the pre-1994 trucks that regularly call the Port of Charleston’s container facilities by the end of 2013. In addition, newer equipment uses less fuel and is less likely to require extensive maintenance work, thereby reducing operating costs to the truck owner.

“At the end of this year when the port eliminates most pre-1994 trucks, it will have reduced diesel particulate pollution by 34 percent from its total cargo truck population in the local area,” said Nancy Vinson, who runs the SCPA’s truck replacement program. “Even as a conservative estimate, that is still a significant amount of emissions reduced, especially since trucks represent one of the two largest sources of port-related emissions.”

The truck replacement program is one part of the SCPA’s award-winning environmental program focused on improving air and water quality, preserving land and enhancing the local community.

Previous grant rounds of Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding have helped implement more than $5.5 million in various retrofits, upgrades and engine replacements to container-handling equipment, trucks, tugs and other marine equipment.

In January the port handled 158,766 TEUs, an increase of 2.9 percent when compared with totals from January 2012. The month’s container total was 90,900 units and the general cargo weight (figure includes container and breakbulk) was 1,348,110 tons.

“This was a great start to our calendar year; rail volume was up 10 percent for the month and continues to help drive our growth,” said Rodney W. Oliver, the Virginia Port Authority’s interim executive director. “We are optimistic about the remainder of the fiscal year and are glad the uncertainty surrounding the ILA Master Contract negotiations appears to be behind us.”

The number of containers moved between the Port of Richmond and the Hampton Roads Harbor on the 64 Express barge service in January was 407, a decrease of 24.1 percent when compared with the same month last year. The decrease is the result of some barge users having slowed their production at year’s end.

Also in January:

• There were six fewer ship calls (-3.7 percent)

• VIP container volume was down 325 units (-11.3 percent)

• Vehicle units were down by 93 units (-2 percent)

One of the first to view the new equipment being erected was UK Transport Minister Stephen Hammond, who witnessed the first of 40 ASCs being constructed at London Gateway, which opens later this year.

Stephen Hammond MP, commenting on the ‘immense scale’ of the new London Gateway port and Europe’s largest logistics park, said: “It really is quite an astonishing example of how UK plc can bring together the best of the best to plan, design, finance, construct and operate world-leading port infrastructure.”

London Gateway CEO Simon Moore welcomed the Minister’s visit and said: “We welcome the opportunity to continue to work with the Government and demonstrate how we can together make the UK more competitive for importing and exporting, by reducing costs and improving reliability in UK supply chains.”

The reliability offered by fully automated ASCs that are able to operate in adverse weather conditions comes as welcome news to hauliers who are often required to deliver containers to warehouse or distribution centres within a 15-minute ‘window’.  A port operations stoppage can cause immense disruption, as time slots can be lost, adding unnecessary cost, delays and frustration across supply chains.

Nick Matthews, Managing Director of haulage film Roadways Container Logistics, has committed to using London Gateway when it opens in Q4 of this year. Matthews said: “We’ve been leading the way in innovation and we see the future of logistics and shipping in the UK is at London Gateway.”

The new port’s location is also another vital part of the mix – not only on the doorstep of the capital, but also closer to the major population centres of Birmingham and Manchester, which means, substantial cost savings for supply chains as a result of less road miles and time needed to move containers inland.   

Independent studies predict that more than 65 million road miles and 148,000 tons of CO2 emissions will be eliminated from the UK’s supply chains when London Gateway is fully built.

The London Gateway construction site spreads over an astonishing three square miles. The Minister was able to see for himself the extraordinary pace of activity as 2,000 construction workers build the new port and what will be Europe’s largest logistics park.

London Gateway is one of the UK’s largest privately funded infrastructure projects and is expected to create 36,000 jobs when fully developed.

Bulk cargo throughput at 39.4 million tons (- 0.4 percent) also remained just below the 2011 total. At 8.9 million TEU (20-ft standard containers) in 2012 total container handling predominating in Hamburg was slightly lower (- 1.7 percent). With this result, Hamburg remains the second largest container port in Europe and consolidates its 14th place among container ports worldwide.

In the second half of 2012 throughput of imported goods showed a decline. At 73.9 million tons, these were down by 3 percent. By contrast, exports by sea at 57.1 million tons (+ 1.9 percent) once again increased. The Port of Hamburg is further strengthening its position as “Gateway to the World” for German exports. Altogether 3.8 million loaded export containers (TEU) were handled in Hamburg during 2012. That corresponds to 4.4 percent growth by comparison with the previous year. The positive throughput trend on exports compensated for a 3.6 percent downturn in imports of loaded containers, which reached a volume of 3.8 million TEU. The slight (- 1.7 percent) downturn in total container throughput to 8.9 million TEU is primarily attributable to lower throughput of empty boxes. At 1.2 million empty containers (TEU), total handling in this segment was 12.1 percent lower than in 2011.  

With the exception of Asia, the Port of Hamburg succeeded in boosting container traffic with all other continents. The Asia trade traditionally has a great importance for the Port of Hamburg. The 8.6 percent downturn in this trade to 4.7 million TEU made a corresponding impact on the Port of Hamburg’s total container throughput. Lower Asia traffic can primarily be explained by the problematical economic environment in Europe, the lack of a “peak season” for Christmas in 2012, and a cooling off in Chinese foreign trade. Container throughput with China (incl. Hong Kong), Hamburg’s leading trade partner in container traffic, was distinctly weaker in 2012 at 2.6 million TEU (- 12.3 percent). Steep growth in container throughput with India (+ 7.1 percent), which in direct traffic with Indian ports reached 210,000 TEU in 2012, was not sufficient to compensate for the drop in the China trade. In 2012 Europe as Hamburg’s second largest container trade after Asia, reported an advance of 6.1 percent to 2.7 million TEU. Container traffic with the United Kingdom was strongly ahead at 156,000 TEU (+ 30.2 percent), while container throughput with Russia as the Port of Hamburg’s second-ranking trading partner reached 675,000 TEU (+ 13.3 percent). The Finland trade was slightly down at 334,000 TEU (- 0.6 percent), with Poland at 263,000 TEU achieving an advance of 10.6 percent.

A further core region for the Port of Hamburg’s container traffic is the America trade with a total of 1.1 million TEU. The USA achieved notable growth of 28.1 percent to 380,000 TEU, reaching fourth position among Hamburg’s main trading partners for container handling. The trend was also positive on container traffic with the West Coast of South America that grew by 8.8 percent, reaching 120,000 TEU. Container throughput with ports on the East Coast of South America, however, remained 7.8 percent below the previous year’s at 279,000 TEU. The container trade with Africa achieved a positive result at 238,000 TEU (+ 12.8 percent). The Port of Hamburg’s volume on container throughput with ports in the Australia/Pacific trade reached 43,000 TEU (+ 15.8 percent).

On non-containerized general cargo, at 2.1 million tons total throughput was 15.6 percent lower than the previous year’s. While exports of conventional cargo at 1.4 million tons were satisfactory (+ 0.1 percent), in 2012 imports at 730,000 tons (- 34.6 percent) were much lower. The positive trend in exports of general cargo is primarily attributable to exports of vehicles and paper.

In 2012 throughput of bulk cargoes was stable at 39.4 million tons (- 0.4 percent), being only just below the previous year’s. Whereas exports of bulk cargoes at 9.9 million tons were ahead by 4.6 percent in 2012, at 29.5 million tons the volume of imports in this segment was (- 2.0 percent) down on the previous year’s. On the export side, at 4.2 million tons throughput, liquid cargoes achieved growth of 11.6 percent. With total exports of 2.5 million tons, throughput of suction cargoes was 2.4 percent higher. Bulk goods imports at 9.1 million tons consisted mainly of iron ore, which produced growth of 8.0 percent. In the liquid cargo segment, oil imports at 4.4 million tons produced gratifying growth of 7.0 percent.

“We can be satisfied with the trend on the Port of Hamburg’s handling of exports. This illustrates once again the high standing German products enjoy abroad and underlines what a significant role in German foreign trade falls to the Port of Hamburg. Yet we do not wish to gloss over the total result, for the economy in Europe needs to recover and to generate an increased willingness to consume and invest. With demand again picking up in Europe and foreign trade gathering strength in our most significant markets abroad, for 2013 growth in total throughput can be expected for the Port of Hamburg. Yet the favourable development of the port is also very largely dependent on the implementation of outstanding infrastructure projects, as for example the deepening of the navigation channel of the Lower and Outer Elbe that is so urgently anticipated by the port business community and by industrial shippers,” emphasizes Claudia Roller, CEO of Port of Hamburg Marketing (HHM).

As Frank Horch, Hamburg’s Minister of Economics, Transport and Innovation emphasized “The Port of Hamburg is splendidly situated. The foundation underpinning its long-term success remains stable. Its outstanding location in terms of transport geography between the North Sea and the Baltic, the immense economic strength of its metropolitan region and the excellent quality of its port and traffic infrastructure contribute to this. Port of Hamburg policy must be directed at long-term trends and may not be led astray by short-term fluctuations in the economy.”

Wolfgang Hurtienne, CEO of the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), is also looking to the infrastructural strengths of the Port of Hamburg: “In 2012 we proved able to almost repeat the Port Railway’s best-ever result of 2011. In recent years we have made very great progress in several respects. The expansion of the Port Railway continues to be accorded top priority.”