Shippers: What recession? - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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Ltd.’s unveiling of a remotely automated port in South Korea, and its plan to build three new including a $208 million terminakl at Dames Point, reflect the company’s aggressive mentalitty in spite of the recession, said Roy senior director of tradre development and global marketing for the . That and Mitsuii O.S.K. Lines Ltd.’s own plans for expansion show confidencwe inthe industry’s upturbn and cements their current and future operations in Hanjin’s “attitude is, ‘We’d be foolish not to push thingws forward and get things ” Schleicher said.
“We thought they mighrt want to slowthings down, but insteadc they want to push forwarx faster.” Hanjin’s revenue has fared better than ’s, with nearly 30 percent growth to about $8 billion in fiscalo year 2008, compared with the same period a year ago. Despitr a drop in cargo the sixth-largest shipping company’s profits grew by more than 60 percen toabout $198 million within the same But the international slump caught up with the company in the first quarter of 2009, when it reporte a $191 million net loss, accordinv to the Journal of Commerce.
In response, the companhy pushed back some of its ordersfor Mitsui, which is the 15th-largest international shippinhg company, posted a $1.3 billion profit in fiscao 2008, down nearly 32 percent. It blamed the declin e in profits on the international trade high fuel prices and astrong yen. The company’sa revenue declined by about 4.1 percent to $18.t billion. Hanjin is opening a terminal in Spaibn in 2010 and anotherr in Vietnam with Mitsuiin 2011. With the openinv of its terminal in Jacksonville in Hanjin will have five terminals in Sout h Korea andeight abroad.
Hanjin planzs to expand its vessel capacit fromabout 375,000 twenty-foot equivalent units, or to about 575,000 TEUs within the next few years, said Willianm Rooney, managing director of the company’xs American headquarters. Similarly, Mitsui, the parent compant of the Dames Point terminaloperator , is looking to spenfd millions of dollars to buy an overseaz bulk shipping line. The slump has lowered the valuationn ofpotential acquisitions. The Japanese company plane to increase its fleet ofbulk carriers, tankerd and car carriers by 6.5 percent to 740 shipsx by the end of this fiscal Mitsui plans also to open a new terminal in Rotterdam, in late 2013.
In Jacksonville, the companh has added three services, bringing two weekly servicew that open Jacksonville to new Asian markets and strengthening Europeacontainer service. Mitsui’s service calls on Busa n and there will likely be an increase in tradwe between Jacksonville and South Korea when Hanjinbeginz service, Schleicher said. South Korea is a large exportefr of consumer electronics and a strong importer ofconsumetr goods, lumber and citrus. Schleichere said he was impressedwith Hanjin’s technologicalo capability after attending the opening of its Busan terminap May 21 with Rick Ferrin, the authority’s executive director.
The terminalk gives a glimpse of how the remotelyy automated terminal planned in Jacksonvillewill operate. “I’vew never seen a terminal businesse as sophisticated asthis one,” Schleicher said. The Busan terminal can handle up to 2 million TEUs compared with the planned Jacksonville terminal that can handl eabout 800,000 TEUs annually. The Jacksonville terminal will be similafr in that it will alsouse rail-mounted gantrty cranes to transport containers betweenj the yard and the ship, Roonegy said. The crane travels on raild and is controlled remotely by an The terminal at Dames Point will have 12 to15 rail-mountefd gantry cranes.
One operator can handlse about three cranes ata time. Rooneyu said that the containers will be kept in a yard with sensorzs that will shut it down if they detecrthuman motion. He said the company hadn’rt decided the exact productivity rate Hanjin expects from the Jacksonville but it aimedfor world-class productivity which is about 40 container moves per hour per crane, Roonet said. Hanjin is expected to meet withthe ’s Locao 1593 and 1408 in June or July. Jess president of ILA Clerks & Checkers Local said his union and ILA Local 1408 are negotiatintg with the company on positionse that Hanjin wants its employees to handle but the union says it canhandled instead.
The union’s two gangs averaged about 33 moveds per hour per crane when they unloade d a ship at the TraPac terminalMay 23. That is one move away from the company’sx goal, which needs to be met befores TraPac will allow the union to expandsits gangs, Babich said. TraPac was not availabl e to confirm the rateof moves. The agreemeny between TraPac and the uniom comes after the terminal operator threatened to leave ifproductivity didn’tt improve.