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Philadelphia port expanding to meet swelling global opportunity
“TIN news: Intensification” is the key word for boosting containerized ocean cargo in Philadelphia. Sean Mahoney, director of marketing for the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, said Philadelphia’s Packer Avenue Marine Terminal is undergoing constant intensification to “improve the throughput per acre.”
While there are a variety of port facilities along Philadelphia’s Delaware River waterfront, “Packer Avenue” as it is known here, is the predominant container seaport facility that is owned by the PRPA. The facility is managed by Holt Logistics Corp, located directly across the river in Gloucester City, NJ.
Mahoney said increased productivity is needed to match fast-growing demand. There is a recent national trend of a 15 percent per year increase in containerized cargo. Because of container traffic congestion in seaports like New York and Norfolk — as well as the West Coast — global shippers are looking for alternatives, and Philadelphia is a very positive alternative.
In Philadelphia, “we are in our sixth consecutive year of sustained growth,” Mahoney continued. “Five of those years were double-digit growth.”
Beyond the weekly refrigerated container SeaLand service running directly from Altamira, Mexico, to Packer Avenue that started in January, Mediterranean Shipping Co. announced in mid-June that it was launching a very similar service that also calls upon Veracruz and Altamira, Mahoney said.
He sees this increased frequency of service as being very positive for Mexican produce exporters. “If you are an avocado shipper, you have options in Veracruz or Altamira. And then the frequency makes sense” if a container load isn’t ready and misses one ship but can catch the next a few days later. “The cargo will be swept up.”
Mahoney added that shipping lines calling directly on Philadelphia from Mexico’s gulf coast are not in competition with one another, but with trucking services from Mexico. There are “plenty of opportunities” to handle chilled cargo headed to the northeastern U.S. through Philadelphia.
Beyond this blooming service from Mexico, Philadelphia is also the beneficiary of two new SeaLand routes from Central America and South America. CGM CMA is also serving Philadelphia from Colombia and the Caribbean. Key cargo for these services are bananas, pineapples, plantains and avocados, he said.
Packer Avenue handled 450,000 20-foot equivalent units in cargo last year. Mahoney said that within three to five years that volume will hit 700,000 TEU. “Our objective is to be over 1 million TEU in the next 10 to 15 years.”
In his June 15 presentation at the PRPA’s Mexican Inbound Trade Mission, Mahoney indicated that the seven-year cooperative effort between Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware to deepen the Delaware River channel to 45 feet will be complete by 2017.
Mahoney also indicated that this fall will see the conclusion of the request for proposal stage of developing the huge Southport facility in Philadelphia.
“I feel good about the future” of global shipping for Philadelphia, Mahoney said. The PRPA board “knows what needs to be done” for increasing port capital and expanding its facilities. “The shipping lines are adding additional services. We are going in the right direction.”
While there are a variety of port facilities along Philadelphia’s Delaware River waterfront, “Packer Avenue” as it is known here, is the predominant container seaport facility that is owned by the PRPA. The facility is managed by Holt Logistics Corp, located directly across the river in Gloucester City, NJ.
Mahoney said increased productivity is needed to match fast-growing demand. There is a recent national trend of a 15 percent per year increase in containerized cargo. Because of container traffic congestion in seaports like New York and Norfolk — as well as the West Coast — global shippers are looking for alternatives, and Philadelphia is a very positive alternative.
In Philadelphia, “we are in our sixth consecutive year of sustained growth,” Mahoney continued. “Five of those years were double-digit growth.”
Beyond the weekly refrigerated container SeaLand service running directly from Altamira, Mexico, to Packer Avenue that started in January, Mediterranean Shipping Co. announced in mid-June that it was launching a very similar service that also calls upon Veracruz and Altamira, Mahoney said.
He sees this increased frequency of service as being very positive for Mexican produce exporters. “If you are an avocado shipper, you have options in Veracruz or Altamira. And then the frequency makes sense” if a container load isn’t ready and misses one ship but can catch the next a few days later. “The cargo will be swept up.”
Mahoney added that shipping lines calling directly on Philadelphia from Mexico’s gulf coast are not in competition with one another, but with trucking services from Mexico. There are “plenty of opportunities” to handle chilled cargo headed to the northeastern U.S. through Philadelphia.
Beyond this blooming service from Mexico, Philadelphia is also the beneficiary of two new SeaLand routes from Central America and South America. CGM CMA is also serving Philadelphia from Colombia and the Caribbean. Key cargo for these services are bananas, pineapples, plantains and avocados, he said.
Packer Avenue handled 450,000 20-foot equivalent units in cargo last year. Mahoney said that within three to five years that volume will hit 700,000 TEU. “Our objective is to be over 1 million TEU in the next 10 to 15 years.”
In his June 15 presentation at the PRPA’s Mexican Inbound Trade Mission, Mahoney indicated that the seven-year cooperative effort between Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware to deepen the Delaware River channel to 45 feet will be complete by 2017.
Mahoney also indicated that this fall will see the conclusion of the request for proposal stage of developing the huge Southport facility in Philadelphia.
“I feel good about the future” of global shipping for Philadelphia, Mahoney said. The PRPA board “knows what needs to be done” for increasing port capital and expanding its facilities. “The shipping lines are adding additional services. We are going in the right direction.”