VIP Shipper Club library – Choice Catalyzes Growth

ISSUE 3 / 2017

ISSUE 3 / 2017

CHOICE CATALYZES GROWTH Baltimore Paper and Projects Push

VIP SHIPPER CLUB MEMBER:

JOHN DEERE ........................................................................................... page 37

port profile

BY LORI MUSSER

CHOICE CATALYZES GROWTH Baltimore’s Paper and Projects Push

36 BREAKBULK MAGAZINE www.breakbulk.com

ISSUE 3 / 2017

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variety pack of cargo suits most ports; a little diversification helps spread the risk and fortify the revenue base. At the Maryland Port Administration’s Port of Baltimore, ongoing diversification contributed to a record 2016, with 10.1 million tons of general cargo handled at public marine terminals.

Overall, the port reported 31.8 million tons, positioning it as 14th in the U.S. It also maintained the top spot for roll-on, roll-off and vehicles.

In addition to ro-ro and containers, Baltimore’s general cargo includes forest products such as rolled paper and wood pulp, other breakbulk cargo, and growing volumes of import and export machinery and other project cargo.

Part of the reason for Baltimore’s success may be its productivity: for container traffic the port scores 71 moves per hour per berth which leads the nation, according to an independent study published in late 2016. Containers taking advantage of the port’s 50-foot channel and other mega-ship infrastructure showed a 23 percent increase in December 2016 versus December 2015.

Breakbulk John Timmins and project cargo tonnage growth Port of Baltimore also speak to the port’s efficiency: in 2016, forest products, led by rolled paper, rose 30 percent to 519,744 tons.

That success is continuing into 2017.

In January, rolled paper was up 26 percent versus January 2016, according to John Timmins, the port’s forest products specialized cargo sales and marketing administrator. He said Finland-based Metsä Board’s new Swedish paper and packaging plant is driving considerable inbound market growth.

Productivity, accompanied by careful handling, has been a crucial factor in attracting breakbulk, according to Timmins. It has also inspired long-term commitment.

UPM COMMITMENT

In late 2016, the port signed one of its top forest-product customers, Finland-based UPM, to a 10-year contract extension.

Baltimore is already one of the leading forest product ports in the U.S., and UPM has been building cargo there for decades.

“UPM is pleased to have extended our commitment to Baltimore,” said Angelo LaMantia, UPM vice president North American supply chain. “UPM has enjoyed a healthy business partnership with the MPA since 1997. Our business relationship with the MPA is our strongest asset. At the core of this relationship is trust, support, openness and mutual respect. The partnership has been a catalyst for both the MPA and UPM to grow and succeed over the years.”

UPM specializes in packaging, direct mail, promotional, postal, magazine and catalogue paper products.

In another coup, about a year ago ro-ro carrier Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, or WWL, committed to serve the Port of Baltimore through to 2025.

According to port statistics, Baltimore ranks first among U.S. ports in autos and light trucks, farm and construction machinery, imported forest products, imported sugar and imported aluminum.

WWL’s multiyear commitment is important because it is the port’s highest-volume ro-ro carrier with 150 ship calls per year, and Baltimore is WWL’s highest-volume port in the Americas.

Last summer, the Port of Baltimore was selected as the exit gate for a John Deere project shipment to Kazakhstan. Mid Atlantic

Terminal, WWL and Plant Site Logistics worked together to coordinate the handling and shipment of 130 combines on two sailings. The combines were trucked to the port from Illinois. The project also included marshalling daily deliveries of tires and crated parts.

The first 65 units were carried by the Tarago and another 65 by the Asian King. Aware of the time sensitivity of the shipment, the team expedited arrangements to prevent delay penalties, underscoring the port’s growing project cargo reputation.

METRO ADVANTAGES

The Baltimore metropolitan region boasts a population of 8 million. The port banks heavily on its location, close to much of the U.S. and Canadian marketplace. A location 150 miles further inland than any other mid-Atlantic port generates a cost advantage to many markets.

The port’s marine terminals have excellent access to the U.S. East Coast’s prime I-95 artery, and 250 trucking companies – including many specialized heavy haulers – plus plenty of on- and off-dock warehousing and laydown acreage that appeal to breakbulk shippers. But port representatives also tout a productive labor force for care and handling of all types of cargo.

Export packers specializing in military packaging, consolidation, vapor proofing

www.breakbulk.com BREAKBULK MAGAZINE 37

port profile

SEEING THE WOOD FOR THE TREES BalTerm has proven to be a strong asset in Baltimore’s quest to grow its forest products business.

With two terminals and 2 million square feet of warehouse space, BalTerm has tripled throughput over two decades, according to President Morgan “Trip” Bailey.

The modern warehousing facility in South Locust Point primarily handles rolls of paper, and the Dundalk facility specializes in wood pulp and lumber.

Maryland Port Authority has invested in warehousing and in modernizing and deepening berths to accelerate growth, and BalTerm has invested in inventory management systems to boost productivity.

“We scan all of our products to ensure that both our customers and our employees have accurate, up-to-date data. We provide direct electronic access for all of our customers, which speeds up the exchange of information, and gives them the tools they need for inventory and deliveries,” Bailey said.

He added that BalTerm takes great care in handling and protecting fragile paper rolls and has invested in the latest clamp technology. If a roll experiences damage on a voyage, BalTerm can repair it so the roll is not wasted.

And the terminal’s two-shift operation – and valued partnership with the Warehouse Local and the ILA – has become integral to maintaining a reputation for damage-free and clean work.

BalTerm offers logistics solutions working with two Class I railroads.

For trucking connections it provides a drop lot that allows trucking companies to drop trailers. “We then bring them to the terminal and load before placing them back in the lot. Truckers save time and money by bringing in an empty, then picking it up as they head out to make their deliveries,” Bailey said.

38 BREAKBULK MAGAZINE

or shrink wrapping, are another important part of the mix, as is heavylift capability, reinforced laydown pads and exceptional rail.

For more than 100 years, Maryland’s short line rail connection to the Port of Baltimore has been Canton Railroad. It has a solid reputation efficiently switching railcars of all sorts – from hoppers to containers to flatcars and more – to carry cargo between the Class I railroads of CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railroad and the final destination, transloading to truck, or delivery pierside for export.

The careful choreography of players including the railroads, marine terminal operators, shippers, and others, as well as attention to safety, reliability and pricing have been keys to the short line’s longevity and success, according to port staff.

TERMINALS AND TENANTS

The Port of Baltimore’s main public breakbulk and project cargo terminals are Dundalk Marine Terminal and North and South Locust Point.

Timmins said: “Late last year we completed Berth 4 at Dundalk Marine Terminal with on-dock rail, to now offer two berths with direct to rail discharge/load for over-dimensional and/or overweight cargo.” He said project business is growing – especially for the heat recovery steam generators needed by natural gas power plants springing up in Maryland and nearby states.

The Berth 13 barge dock is also an important asset for project cargo operators, Timmins said.

Privately owned, non-containerized cargo berths are active at the port too.

Joe Greco, vice president of marine and commercial development of the privately owned Tradepoint Atlantic port complex, said: “TPA, within the wider Port of Baltimore, is working to further increase the competitiveness of the port. Relationships with both the Port of Baltimore and the Maryland Port Administration are quite strong, as Tradepoint Atlantic brings them the opportunity to continue to grow maritime traffic, specifically vessel calls, new tonnage and a broader beneficial economic impact to the region.”

Tenant, Access World, previously known at Pacorini Metals, is a growing logistics and warehousing company with roots in Baltimore. Working with its global operations network it handles and warehouses non-ferrous metals, steel, forest products, bulk and project cargo. It operates 2 million square feet of storage spread across five warehouse sites in Baltimore, and was one of the first tenants to sign on at the emerging Tradepoint Atlantic complex, expanding its leasehold with a 760,000-square-foot building on 12 acres.

This scale of available space – accompanied by equipment like a new Terex 285-ton crawler crane rigged for heavy lifting, a 1,000-foot-long rail siding served by both NS and CSX, and two deepwater berths nearby – reaffirm the region’s commitment to breakbulk, specialized and oversized project cargoes. BB Based in the U.S., Lori Musser is a veteran shipping industry writer.

ISSUE 3 / 2017

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