The improved facility will benefit from the latest-generation CareGo warehouse optimisation and crane automation technology, revolutionising the efficiency of the steel supply chain and transforming the port’s customer offering.

The Liverpool Steel Terminal will feature a fully automated warehouse and interactive customer web portal, which mean customers will have round-the-clock instant access to the ordering process. Real time stock availability, precision coil selection and a vehicle booking system will give customers best value for money by minimising paperwork, handling, and haulier turn-around time.

The terminal will also include an automatic weighing facility, and instant customer reporting means that customers will be able to track their order real-time from ship to door.

Gary Hodgson, Managing Director of Peel Ports said: “This is a particularly exciting investment for Peel Ports because it puts us at the leading edge of steel storage and distribution. No other port in the UK is currently able to offer a comparable service.

“Coupled with the Port of Liverpool’s advantageous location in terms of its proximity to UK manufacturing, we are confident that we are making a very important investment that will ultimately offer our customers substantial cost benefits.”

Coil capacity at the new terminal will be 350kt. Segregated storage and quarantine locations include the capacity for dehumidification and temperature controlled facilities. The Liverpool Steel Terminal will be open for business in April 2013.

The operator of the terminal, which services on average 1,500 trucks a day, is bringing in the new booking system called VBS Premium to further enhance supply chain efficiencies for customers.

A trial of VBS Premium with 13 of the terminals largest hauliers has been described by the container port as an “overwhelming success” to date.

Steve McCrindle, Head of Operations, said: “The aim of VBS Premium is to make the back-office management of containers and bookings easier, making the transport booking process even more productive.

“Having pioneered VBS in 2005, we are industry leaders and have spent the past year developing this IT system in-house to further enhance supply chain efficiencies for customers. Built from the ground up, the feedback we have received from the port industry to date is that it has been an overwhelming success. 

“Customers are reporting that they are saving time with our new booking system – what could take up a morning can now be done within just 30 minutes or so. VBS Premium will be available to all hauliers calling at the terminal from January 1st, 2013, and we will be listening carefully to how they feel the service is going.”

Advantages of VBS Premium include:

 Ability to upload lists of containers into the system which are automatically tracked for booking status i.e. cleared etc.

One page to manage containers and one page for bookings.

Click and drop facility to combine containers and appointments.

Appointment availability shown in in real time with automatic refresh.

Expected location in terminal (allowing you to combine import and export boxes in one transfer area).

The introduction of VBS Premium follows a record-breaking year for productivity at the port, which also won a national award for being the most reliable port for rail feed service of its kind in the UK. Gate-to-gate turnaround times for hauliers at DP World Southampton are reportedly the best in the UK with an average of less than 30 minutes

The removal of 450,000 cubic metres of material at the Marchwood Moorings will widen the navigation channel by 30m, thus improving accessibility for container vessels using the existing container berths operated by DP World Southampton.  The port regularly demonstrates its capability to handle vessels in excess of 13,000 teu on its existing berth and the dredging will further simplify vessel turning and manoeuvrability.

Doug Morrison, ABP Port Director Southampton, said: “This is another step to ensure that marine access to all container berths meets the future needs of our customers and maintains the port’s position at the forefront of global trade.  The redevelopment of berths 201 and 202 will allow us to handle the largest vessels on order, and the channel-widening works at Marchwood will have the added benefit of ensuring we maintain the highest navigational safety standards in the port.”

ABP has worked closely with Marchwood Yacht Club (MYC) to agree suitable new locations for 16 of its 150 moorings in preparation for the dredge.  The new moorings will be located in deeper water in order to meet club members’ requirements to accommodate deeper-draughted yachts.

Andrew Tilley, formerly Commodore of Marchwood Yacht Club, explained how MYC had worked with ABP to find a solution acceptable to both parties, saying: “There has been good communication from ABP, who have been very helpful and accommodating in offering us the new moorings.

“Everything has been done in a spirit of cooperation and we look forward to that continuing in the future.”

Preparation works for the dredge have also included the relocation of navigation marks, one of which will be enhanced to support a new weather station and tide gauge to further assist port users.

Preliminary works began on Monday, 19 November using UK Dredging’s UKD Bluefin.  ABP is currently carrying out monitoring of water turbidity and has also agreed monitoring procedures and a sediment management strategy with the Environment Agency should the need arise. It is anticipated that a contract for the remainder of the works will be awarded in December and the dredging will be completed by spring 2013.

Agricultural commodities transiting the port have grown by 35 per cent since 2008; and according to Hamilton’s Economic Development office, agriculture is now a $1.3 billion engine of the city’s economy.

It’s harvest time, and farmers from all over southern Ontario are bringing their grain into Hamilton’s terminals. Throughout this busy season, several hundred trucks and rail cars per day will be unloaded. Ontario grain is considered to be among the highest quality available on the global market; it makes its way from the Port of Hamilton to food processors and dinner tables in North America and around the world aboard domestic lakers and oceangoing vessels.  

Manitoba-based Richardson International is a worldwide handler and merchandiser of major Canadian-grown grains and oilseeds and has had a presence in Hamilton for more than a decade. “Hamilton has emerged as a major grain hub in Ontario and demand continues to grow,” says Riley Verhelst, Director of Operations for Richardson. “Last year, we completed a significant expansion to increase handling and shipping capacity and we are committed to continuing to invest in our facility to improve efficiency and keep pace with growing demand.”

The port recently attracted 103 year-old Canadian-owned grain trading company Parrish & Heimbecker (P&H). The company has completed the first phase of a uniquely designed modern, efficient grain terminal.  Matt Gardner, P&H’s Operations Manager said, “Ontario farmers face tough competition in accessing world markets, so our focus was on fast, efficient truck unloading, careful handling and storage, and efficient loading of vessels.  We are very happy with the response from Ontario farmers and with the performance of our terminal.”

Terminals play a critical role in facilitating the movement of grain to export markets, providing storage capacity and finding markets for domestic surpluses. “Richardson’s terminal and P&H’s iconic domed grain silos are helping transform the city’s skyline and its reputation,” said Bruce Wood, Hamilton Port Authority President and CEO.

The expansion of the port’s grain handling business is part of a concerted effort to diversify the types of cargo the Port of Hamilton is known for, notes Wood. “We have pushed hard to expand the port’s capacity in the agricultural sector, and having the right partners like Richardson and P&H on-board has given us a ton of momentum.”

In addition to grain handlers, the Port of Hamilton is home to companies and assets that comprise a significant agrifood sector ‘food chain’, for example:

Bunge Canada, a world leader in the processing and marketing of oilseeds and edible oil products;

Agrico and Sylvite Agri-Services, specializing in the handling of fertilizers;

Toronto Tank Lines and Westway Terminals, providing storage and transloading of biodiesel, seed oil and other liquid commodities;

Also, the port’s multimodal transportation connections offer efficiency in competitive global agricultural markets where margins are often narrow. In the near-term, the port will be undertaking an aggressive investment plan to expand and enhance its rail network.

When it comes to providing access to export markets for Ontario grain producers, Bruce Wood notes: “The port’s location is unsurpassed. But it is the partners, the facilities and the multimodal transportation connections that have propelled us forward.”