Port Productivity: New York/New Jersey, Everglades

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A Port Performance Task Force on June 24 released a report containing 23 recommendations aimed at reducing truck congestion and air emissions in the Port of New York and New Jersey, improving customer service for truckers and other port stakeholders, and enhancing the flow of goods from the port to the marketplace. A new group of port stakeholders – the Council on Port Performance – will be formed to immediately begin the task of implementing the recommendations.

Nearly 100 port partners representing all sectors of the industry – including the New York Shipping Association, International Longshoremen’s Association, National Retail Federation, ocean carriers, importers and exporters, terminal operators, chassis providers and trucking companies – developed the recommendations over the past six months following extensive analysis, discussion and collaboration.

The Task Force was created by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey in conjunction with the New York Shipping Association in December 2013 to identify challenges and examine broad long-term recommendations to improve service reliability and efficiency in the port. The Task Force also explored ways to address more immediate issues.

The recommendations include:

• Development of a model to improve the management of truck chassis in the port.
• Development of a truck management system to meter truck arrival rates, which would reduce congestion and resulting air emissions, decrease truck turn times and improve terminal productivity.
• The coordination of gate hours at all of the privately operated terminals serving the port.
• The use of radio-frequency identification, or RFID, technology to measure and report on various truck movement times, including turn times on the terminal, queue times at terminal entrance gates and traffic on port roadways.
• Improved customer service at the terminals to assist truckers with transactions and other questions.

The Task Force was led by Port Authority Port Commerce Director Richard Larrabee and John Nardi, president of the New York Shipping Association. Five working groups were established – Intermodal Equipment, Drayage Operations, Terminal Optimization, Express Rail and Government/Community Outreach – to address a diverse set of concerns related to port productivity and performance. Senior staff members from the port authority facilitated each working group, which consisted of 10 to 15 industry experts from the port community.

While the report was being developed, port stakeholders began to address improvements for moving cargo on and off port terminals by hiring 274 new workers to the labor force, adding new container handling equipment, establishing longer operating hours, increasing the availability of chassis and authorized the hiring of 100 new officers in Customs and Border Protection.

To review the Task Force report, click http://www.panynj.gov/port/pdf/pptf-final-report-june-2014.pdf.

Port Everglades Invests in Growth with Updated Master/Vision Plan

Port Everglades is planning for the year 2033 with an updated road map for future growth over the next 20 years that identifies $1.6 billion in capital investments to improve productivity for cargo, cruise and petroleum businesses that operate at the South Florida seaport.

The Broward County Board of County Commissioners, which governs the port as a self-funded enterprise fund, approved the Port Everglades 2014 Master/Vision Plan during its regularly scheduled meeting on June 24. During the past year, port staff and its maritime consultant held more than 20 meetings with customers, stakeholders and the general public to develop the plan.

"This is the second update to the original Master/Vision Plan that was adopted in 2006," said Port Everglades Chief Executive and Port Director Steve Cernak, PPM®. "At that time, the commission directed staff to update the plan every two to three years to take a hard look at market trends and how we could maximize existing facilities to ensure that Port Everglades continues to be an economic powerhouse."

Market assessments predict steady growth in all business sectors at Port Everglades. By 2033, its cruise business is forecast to reach 5.6 million passenger moves, up from the 4 million expected during FY 2014, container throughput will jump to 1.72 million TEUs from this year’s expected 943,000, and non-containerized cargo will tripled to nearly 3.3 million tons.

Petroleum products, especially gasoline and jet fuel, which are moved by ship and rail to private petroleum terminals inside the port, are also anticipated to increase as South Florida’s consumer population continues to grow. Total volumes are projected to grow from 300,000 barrels daily to 376,000 barrels daily in 2033, with jet fuel replacing gasoline as the top petroleum commodity moving through the port.

Current keystone capital improvements are providing a springboard for future growth and infrastructure enhancements. They include lengthening the Southport Turning Notch from 900 to 2,400 feet to add up to five new cargo berths; deepening and widening the navigation channels; and the opening this July of the Florida East Coast Railway’s new intermodal container transfer facility (ICTF).

Projects in the five-year Master Plan include:

• Complete Southport Turning Notch expansion
• New bulkheads for Berths 1, 2 and 3
• Expand Slip 1 for petroleum operations
• Create a new neo-bulk storage yard for non-containerized cargo
• Lengthen Slip 2 for larger cruise ships using Cruise Terminal 4
• Improve Cruise Terminal 25 by adding an enclosed corridor to Cruise Terminal 22/24
• Purchase the first two of five super post-Panamax cranes
• Add an outbound lane for cargo trucks on McIntosh Road
• Mitigation in West Lake Park

Longer-term projects in the 10- and 20-year Vision Plans include:

• Cruise Terminal 29 improvements
• Fill in the Tracor Basin to lengthen Berth 29 to accommodate larger cruise ships
• Continue to replace bulkheads throughout the Port
• Build a new parking garage for Cruise Terminals 2 and 4 in Northport
• Purchase three additional super post-Panamax cranes
• Reconfigure Berth 33 to accommodate larger cargo ships
• Deepen and widening the Port’s navigational channels
• Construct a crushed rock (aggregate) facility with an underground conveyance from the docks to the rail facility

The plan also includes conducting traffic and environmental studies for projects in the five-year Master Plan, and an affordability analysis for the projects in the 10-year time frame. The complete 2014 Master/Vision Plan is available at www.portevergladesmasterplan.com.