APM Terminals Elizabeth targeting intermodal cargo
APM Terminals Elizabeth is looking to use its first port of call momentum to expand intermodal cargo volumes to and from the Midwest and Canada, according to the company's release.
Using a direct-to-rail landing zone section on the terminal during vessel discharge operations, APM Terminals Elizabeth is able to expedite rail cargo to its near dock rail facility 12 hours (avg.) after discharge. Once cargo arrives at the Millennium Marine Rail-operated terminal (an APM Terminals joint venture), port Labor and APM Terminals teams work on the 18 track rail operation building doublestack trains for fast handoff to three Class I railroads (CSX, NS, CN) that take it to inland markets 2-4 days away. On the return trip, trains carrying U.S. exports call the terminal for loading on vessels, ensuring a smooth roundtrip railcar flow.
APM Terminals Elizabeth also works closely with The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to ensure train performance and rail infrastructure in the port is supportive of the growth. The Port of New York and New Jersey has the largest rail lift capacity of any U.S. East Coast port.
APM Terminals Elizabeth recently completed a $200 million infrastructure investment that made the terminal better and safer for ships, truckers and rail operations. New infrastructure, including new ship-to-shore cranes, modernized IT systems and new truck gates were added. To achieve safer operations, the terminal rolled out artificial intelligence to trigger a notification to the Terminal Safety team to respond to the trucker location when a trucker steps out of the truck. (The terminal handles over 5000 truck gate activities daily). APM Terminals Elizabeth has also rolled out an appointment visibility app as well as a mandatory driver induction app to ensure driver safety awareness policies on the terminal for truckers.
Truck turn times are averaging 52 mins for all moves and detention times for import containers are down 75% as customers take delivery of import cargo faster. This performance prompted The Bi-State Motor Carriers Association to award the terminal – terminal of the year 2021.
