APM Terminals Lazaro Cardenas. Mexico s new gateway to the Pacific

Transcription

1 APM Terminals Lazaro Cardenas Mexico s new gateway to the Pacific

2 2 Mexico s new gateway to the Pacific 2.2% expansion in the Mexico economy in % of Mexico s Pacific Coast trade passes through either Lázaro Cárdenas or the Port of Manzanillo APM Terminals delivers Mexico s most advanced container facility in a major boost to the nation s growing trade Mexico s GDP already ranks 11th in the world - and the country is continuing to expand. The reasons for growth are many and varied: The country is wellplaced geographically, with direct routes to Pacific and Atlantic markets, and a position midway between the major economic blocs of North America and South America. With competitive labor rates and a rapidly growing, well-educated and skilled workforce, Mexico has seen sectors such as automobiles, white goods and aerospace flourish. Mexico has the fastest-developing aeronautical assembly industry in the world, for example. Overall, the picture for Mexico looks rosy: The Mexican economy expanded by 2.2% in 2016 and this prosperity is reflected in the trade volume of Mexican ports, which climbed 4.6% in 2016 to 5.66 TEUs (shipping containers come in various sizes, so their volumes are cited in TEUs - twenty-foot equivalent units.) To accommodate the expected growth, the Mexican government has announced plans to dramatically increase port capacity. As part of this expansion, APM Terminals signed a 32-year concession for the design, construction and operation of a new deep-water terminal at the Port of Lázaro Cárdenas. Lázaro Cárdenas is Mexico s second-busiest container port, handling 1.11 million TEUs in 2016, with an annual growth rate of 5.2%. Over 90% of Mexico s Pacific Coast trade passes through either Lázaro Cárdenas or the Port of Manzanillo, 200 miles to the north. The new terminal the most advanced in Latin America - will not only eventually add over four million TEUs of annual throughput capacity and thus greatly boost the trade volumes of the nation, but will also create many hundreds of local jobs and thus have a significant positive impact on the economy of Michoacán State. Continental gateway The new terminal is called APM Terminals Lazaro Cardenas. The first construction phase is now complete with 750 m of quay, five ship-to-shore (STS) cranes, 22 automatic stacking cranes and two rail gantry cranes. The 49 hectare (about 50 soccer fields) site is connected to five rail tracks and offers gate services for landside customers. More is to come: the terminal s depth is currently 16.5 m, enough for even the biggest container ships, but will be deepened to 18 m to accommodate future,

3 3 larger vessels. The quay will be lengthened to 1.5 km, and 10 more STSs and five more rail tracks will be installed, thus increasing terminal capacity to 4.1 million TEUs twice the current capacity of Manzanillo, Mexico s largest port. $900m total investment by APM Terminals By the time the final phase is complete, total investment by APM Terminals will be USD $900 million. Heavy lifting Central to the new terminal s facilities are the cranes. The STS cranes are the key container movers. With a view to the future, these cranes have been designed to handle the world s largest ships. They can reach across vessels that are over 23 containers wide - so-called super-post-panamax ships. Already, several ships have been handled by the port and the STS have accomplished over 20 gross moves per hour (GMPH) and 76 berth moves per hour (BMPH) - with an average of 4.2 cranes deployed. (GMPH describes a crane s capacity for the onload, offload and repositioning of containers; BMPH the total number of containers moved on or off a vessel by all cranes each hour.) The STS cranes are inherently earthquakeresistant an important asset in this part of the world. Rail capacity with the two rail gantry cranes is 40 mph. With 11 stacks in total to serve the waterside operation, the automated stacking crane capacity allows around 17 containers per hour per stack to be transferred to or from vessels. Modular and decoupled terminal design APM Terminals Lazaro Cardenas layout reflects one of APM Terminals main strategies for facility design: modularity. By decoupling the terminal s functional blocks from each other, knock-on delays can be reduced and overall berth efficiency improved. For example, underneath the STS cranes is a transfer area, which serves as a waiting room where containers are picked up and delivered by the manned straddle carriers. The STS crane can work at full speed and does not have to wait for a carrier to appear to take (or bring) a container. This decoupling makes it is easier to optimize the interface between modules and cope with unexpected events. The modular approach also facilitates standardization and allows detailed infrastructure to be re-used in multiple locations. Control room and automation With the advent of ultra-large ships of 20,000 TEU capacity, ports have to be able to load and unload ships very efficiently in order to avoid congestion. Rapid handling necessitates a high degree of automation and well-organized rail access. The APM Terminals control room at Lázaro Cárdenas is the nerve center of the entire port. From here, every single operation can be monitored and guided. APM Terminals has installed the most advanced port automation solution available. Even before a ship docks, its cargo manifest will be known and an unloading sequence worked out. Optical character recognition identifies the container and allows the operator to track its progress all the way through the terminal. Sensors assist the operator with trajectory prediction, alignment and stacking, as well as pendulum control. These tools help prevent accidents, increase productivity and reduce damage.

4 4 Cargo flows are segregated depending on the final destination and the mode of transport. This information is known in advance and if the container is moving on by rail, the terminal management system will schedule a railcar and interact with the shunting software to ensure that an optimal train composition is created in the on-dock rail facilities. The system identifies, tracks and archives the image and equipment number information of each rail wagon and its containers, thus eliminating the need for manual inventory procedures. In addition, images are captured to enable verification of equipment condition to check for damage. Two railway cranes are available to load the containers onto the railcars that sit on the five (later, 10) rail tracks to be transported to Mexico City and beyond. The APM Terminals control room at Lázaro Cárdenas is the nerve center of the entire port. From here, every single operation can be monitored and guided. Road traffic entering or leaving the facility passes through an automated truck gate. Here, the driver can take care of the required procedure and make direct contact with the control room in the event of cargo issues or exceptions. Mexican trucks are often of the double-chassis type, which are long and difficult to reverse so the entire truck handling process has been laid out to make maneuvering easy. This speeds things up (truck turn time is just 23 minutes) and is more environmentally- friendly. It is safer, too, as there are far fewer people present in areas where trucks are moving. Once the container has left the terminal, it is automatically tracked on an APM Terminals database on its way to the next intermodal facility or until it leaves APM Terminals custody. All this automation ensures that cargo is unloaded as rapidly as possible and sent on to its final destination in the shortest possible time. Safety first In a facility of such technical sophistication, training and safety are paramount. For this reason, APM Terminals has put a full training program in place. Each employee is rigorously trained and examined in all aspects of their tasks and on the machinery for which they are responsible. Crane operators, for example, undergo thorough training on a crane simulator before they are allowed to progress to the real thing and complete their certification. Training videos have been made available on YouTube so that employees can refresh their knowledge as and when required. Employees also receive comprehensive general Safety training as well as an education in the company s business ethics approach APM Terminals is dedicated to promoting ethical behavior amongst its employees and suppliers. In their air-conditioned and ergonomically designed control rooms, operators suffer much less exposure to danger and are subject to less noise and stress. Working in such a surrounding improves concentration and productivity and results in all around better mental and physical health. The wellbeing of outdoor personnel is also of high importance: The terminal layout is such that people are not present on the same level as horizontal dockside transport. For example, a raised lashing platform is provideded for those performing manual container lock-on. Equipment health check The wellbeing of the terminal equipment is also taken care of. Asset digitization allows data to be collected from cranes, shuttles, etc. to help the onsite maintenance team analyze their operating condition. Real-time, online supervision supports proactive maintenance, which is more cost-effective than scheduled maintenance. This type of fleet management optimizes performance, increases

5 5 asset availability and provides alarm messages, historical records, operation trend displays, condition reports and energy reports. To Mexico, and beyond 250 distribution centers withim a 20km radius Container handling infrastructure extends far beyond the port: Two key elements of the national and international container distribution network are APM Terminals Mexico Inland Services off-dock yard in Lázaro Cárdenas and the intermodal terminal in Cuautitlán Izcalli, on the edge of Mexico City. Intermodal transport means that containers can be effortlessly switched between sea, road or rail. These facilities support the port operations and serve as an access point to the 250 distribution centers within a 20 km radius that support the vast local Mexico City market (over 20 million people). Further, the use of this rail transport corridor minimizes environmental impact and reduces truck traffic. Power base A terminal of this size and sophistication has an electrical power demand equivalent to that of a medium-sized factory. This power is supplied via a 115 kv substation with a connection to the high-voltage grid of CFE, the Mexican utility company. An infrastructure of distribution substations, reefer substations and building substations deliver the power to where it is needed. An investment in Mexico s future APM Terminals investment and involvement in the major port of Lázaro Cárdenas will benefit Michoacán State by creating new, well-paid jobs and enabling continued growth of the nation s trade. The design and construction of an installation as

6 6 APM Terminals gave me full training as an STS crane operator. Many of my colleagues were in the same boat as myself, so to speak, and they too have been set on a promising career path complex as this was only possible with the full cooperation of local and national governmental bodies, enterprises throughout the region and the port authorities. APM Terminals is one of the world s largest and best-known global terminal operating companies, and its interest and activities in Mexico are a testimony to Mexico s ongoing emergence as a leading global trade partner. The APM Terminals Lazaro Cardenas project represents $1 billion in infrastructure investment and will create Mexico s, and Latin America s, most advanced automated container terminal, thus attracting even more cargo and creating yet more new jobs for Mexicans. But perhaps the last word should be given to terminal workers themselves. Martin Aviles Luna who is an STS crane operator, says, before I joined APM Terminals, I was basically an unskilled worker, even though I had a good high school education. APM Terminals gave me full training as an STS crane operator. Many of my colleagues were in the same boat as myself, so to speak, and they too have been set on a promising career path. It s great to be a part of the team here and take personal pride in the high service delivery figures we re providing at this early stage.

7 7 Lázaro Cárdenas: Port of productivity 400m Maersk Triple E-class ship 7.5 Soccer Fields Quay Length (Phase 1): 750m Capacity (Phase 1): 1.2 Million TEU Phase 2 Equipment (Phase 1) Operation area (Phase 1) 10ha Yard 22 ASCs 5 STS Crane height Reach Stackers Shuttle Empty 18 Carriers 2 Handlers Berth depth 93m 16.5m 5 Rail lines Destined to Mexico City with connecting rail links to all major markets in the Americas

8 8 Lázaro Cárdenas: Port of opportunity Population of Mexico City Metropolitan Area: 21.2 Million 2016 Top commodities volumes (by country) via Lázaro Cárdenas From Far East Asia to Mexico: Hermosillo China 60% Japan 4% Others 8% South Korea 27% Transit times to Asia days Yokohama Busan Shanghai Ningbo Kaohsiung Chiwan Hong Kong Transit times from Asia days Yokohama Kwangyang Ningbo Chiwan Hong Kong Hong Kong Nansha Kaohsiung Tanjung Pelapas Monterrey Cuautitlan Izcalli Intermodal Facility Mexico City Lázaro Cárdenas From Mexico to Far East Asia: China 41% Strategic location with more than 250 distribution centers within a 12 mile radius Others 24% South Korea 16% Vietnam 19%