Shippers: What recession? - Sacramento Business Journal:

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Ltd.’s unveiling of a remotely automated port in South Korea, and its plan to build threee new terminals, including a $208 million terminal at Dames Point, reflect the company’sw aggressive mentality in spite of the recession, said Roy senior director of trade development and global marketing for the . That and Mitsui Lines Ltd.’s own plans for expansion show confidence inthe industry’ds upturn and cements their current and futurw operations in Jacksonville. Hanjin’s “attitude is, ‘We’d be foolish not to push things forwardr and getthings done,’ Schleicher said.
“We thought they might want to slowthingxs down, but instead they want to push forwarx faster.” Hanjin’s revenue has fared better than ’s, with nearly 30 percenrt growth to about $8 billion in fiscalo year 2008, compared with the same period a year ago. Despite a drop in cargl volume, the sixth-largest shipping company’d profits grew by more than 60 percent toabouf $198 million within the same But the international slump caughy up with the company in the firsf quarter of 2009, when it reported a $191 million net according to the Journal of In response, the company pushed back some of its orderes for ships.
Mitsui, which is the 15th-largest international shipping company, posted a $1.3 billionm profit in fiscal 2008, down nearlyg 32 percent. It blamed the declinr in profits on the internationaltrade slump, high fuel pricesa and a strong yen. The company’s revenued declined by about 4.1 percent to $18.6 billion. Hanjihn is opening a terminal in Spain in 2010 and anothert in Vietnam with Mitsuiin 2011. With the openinfg of its terminal in Jacksonvillsein 2012, Hanjin will have five terminals in Southj Korea and eight abroad.
Hanjin plans to expand its vessek capacity fromabout 375,000 twenty-foot equivalent or TEUs, to about 575,000 TEUs within the next few said William Rooney, managing director of the company’ds American headquarters. Similarly, Mitsui, the parent company of the Damed Point terminaloperator , is looking to spend millions of dollars to buy an overseasw bulk shipping line. The slump has loweredc the valuation ofpotential acquisitions. The Japanese company plans to increasw its fleet ofbulk carriers, tankers and car carrierzs by 6.5 percent to 740 ships by the end of this fisca year. Mitsui plans also to open a new terminalin Netherlands, in late 2013.
In the company has added three bringing two weekly services that open Jacksonville to new Asian markets and strengthening Europeancontainer service. Mitsui’d service calls on Busan and theres will likely be an increase in trade betweeb Jacksonville and South Korea when Hanjinbegind service, Schleicher said. South Korea is a large exporterf of consumer electronics and a strong importer ofconsumedr goods, lumber and citrus. Schleicher said he was impressedwith Hanjin’w technological capability after attending the opening of its Busaj terminal May 21 with Rick Ferrin, the authority’s executivee director.
The terminal gives a glimpse of how the remotelyy automated terminal planned in Jacksonvillrewill operate. “I’ve never seen a terminal business as sophisticatecd asthis one,” Schleichedr said. The Busan terminall can handle up to 2 million TEUs compared with the planned Jacksonville terminap that can handleabourt 800,000 TEUs annually. The Jacksonville terminal will be similar in that it will alsouse rail-mounted gantryy cranes to transport containers between the yard and the ship, Roonety said. The crane travels on rails and is controlled remotelh byan operator. The terminal at Dames Point will have 12 to15 rail-mounteds gantry cranes.
One operator can handle about three cranes ata time. Rooney said that the containerzs will be kept in a yard with sensor s that will shut it down if they detecghuman motion. He said the company hadn’rt decided the exact productivity rate Hanjin expects from theJacksonville terminal, but it aimeds for world-class productivity levels, which is aboutf 40 container moves per hour per crane, Rooney Hanjin is expected to meet with the ’a Local 1593 and 1408 in June or Jess Babich, president of ILA Clerks & Checker Local 1593, said his unionm and ILA Local 1408 are negotiating with the compant on positions that Hanjin want its employees to handle but the unio says it can handle The union’s two gangs averaged aboutr 33 moves per hour per crane when they unloaded a ship at the TraPavc terminal May 23.
That is one move away from the company’z goal, which needs to be met befored TraPac will allow the union to expandits gangs, Babicy said. TraPac was not available to confirm the rate of The agreement between TraPac and the union comes aftefr the terminal operator threatened to leavd ifproductivity didn’t improve.