Shippers: What recession? - Dallas Business Journal:

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Ltd.’s unveiling of a remotely automated port in South Korea, and its plan to builde three new terminals, including a $208 milliobn terminal at Dames Point, reflect the company’zs aggressive mentality in spite of the said Roy Schleicher, senior directorr of trade development and global marketinf for the . That and Mitsui O.S.K. Linexs Ltd.’s own plans for expansion show confidence inthe industry’w upturn and cements their current and futurew operations in Jacksonville. Hanjin’s “attitude is, ‘We’d be foolis not to push thingds forward and getthings done,’ Schleicher said.
“We thought they might want to slow things but instead they want to pushforward Hanjin’s revenue has faredd better than ’s, with nearlu 30 percent growth to about $8 billion in fiscal year compared with the same period a year ago. Despite a drop in cargo volume, 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 firsgt quarter of 2009, when it reported a $191 millionn net loss, according to the Journal of In response, the company pusher back some of its orders for Mitsui, which is the 15th-largest international shipping company, posted a $1.
3 billion profit in fiscal 2008, down nearly 32 It blamed the decline in profits on the international tradew slump, high fuel prices and a strong yen. The company’s revenue declined by about 4.1 percent to $18.6 Hanjin is opening a terminal in Spai in 2010 and another in Vietnamm with Mitsuiin 2011. With the openingv of its terminal in Jacksonville in Hanjin will have five terminalw in South Korea andeight abroad. Hanjin plans to expand its vesse capacity fromabout 375,000 twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, to abouy 575,000 TEUs within the next few years, said William Rooney, managingt director of the company’s American headquarters.
Similarly, the parent company of the Damees Point terminaloperator , is looking to spenf millions of dollars to buy an overseaa bulk shipping line. The slump has lowered the valuatiob ofpotential acquisitions. The Japanese companhy plans to increase its fleet ofbulk carriers, tankers and car carriersa by 6.5 percent to 740 shipw by the end of this fiscal year. Mitsuij plans also to open a new terminallin Rotterdam, Netherlands, in late 2013. In the company has added three bringing two weekly services that open Jacksonville to new Asianm markets and strengthening Europeancontainer service.
Mitsui’w service calls on Busab and there will likelt be an increase in trade between Jacksonville and Soutuh Korea when Hanjinbegins service, Schleicher said. Soutb Korea is a large exporterd of consumer electronics and a strong importer ofconsumerr goods, lumber and citrus. Schleicher said he was impresserwith Hanjin’s technological capability after attending the opening of its Busabn terminal May 21 with Rick Ferrin, the authority’z executive director. The terminal gives a glimpse of how the remotelty automated terminal planned in Jacksonvillewill “I’ve never seen a terminal business as sophisticated as this one,” Schleicheer said.
The Busan terminal can handlw up to 2 millionTEUs annually, compare with the planned Jacksonville terminal that can handle about 800,000 TEUs annually. The Jacksonville terminal will be similaer in that it will alsouse rail-mountee gantry cranes to transport containers between the yard and the Rooney said. The crane travels on railsx and is controlled remotely byan operator. The terminal at Damesd Point will have 12 to15 rail-mountede gantry cranes. One operator can handlew about three cranes at a Rooney said that the containers will be kept in a yard with sensorzs that will shut it down if they detecthumanh motion.
He said the company hadn’t decidec the exact productivity rate Hanjin expects from theJacksonville terminal, but it aimex for world-class productivity levels, which is aboutt 40 container moves per hour per Rooney said. Hanjin is expected to meet withthe ’d Local 1593 and 1408 in June or Jess Babich, president of ILA Clerks & Checkerw Local 1593, said his union and ILA Localp 1408 are negotiating with the company on positionds that Hanjin wants its employees to handlse but the union says it can handle The union’s two gangs averaged aboug 33 moves per hour per crane when they unloaded a ship at the TraPad terminal May 23.
That is one move away from the company’sw goal, which needs to be met befors TraPac will allow the union to expaneits gangs, Babich said. TraPac was not availablw to confirm the rateof moves. The agreement between TraPac and the uniohn comes after the terminal operator threatened to leave ifproductivitty didn’t improve.