Alabama State Port Authority enters second half of the year with strong track record, promising outlook for containerized shipping.
The Alabama Port Authority released its 2022 year-to-date container volumes which showed double and triple-digit growth across all types of containerized cargo movements. The port’s most impressive growth continues to be its intermodal container transfer facility (ICTF). With a 118.6% increase from the same period last year. In the first six months of this year, dry and refrigerated cargo moves grew at a rate of 8.7% and 25%, respectively. The total number of containers handled at the Port of Mobile through June clocked in at 263,562 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), keeping pace with its projections to again surpass half-a-million TEUs in 2022.
“The Port of Mobile is uncongested, fluid and continuously investing to ensure we maintain and increase the rate of growth we have experienced so far this year,” said director and chief executive officer, John Driscoll.
The rapid growth through the container terminal has been fueled by reliable terminal operations, capacity, and service offered by the Port and its partner, terminal operator, APM Terminals (APMT). With an average truck turn time of 51 minutes for a dual move, shippers are actively shifting their supply chains to leverage logistics solutions provided by the Port and APMT as they work to meet consumer demands.
“APM Terminals has been an incredible partner for the Port Authority, and we are thrilled to have recently announced our third expansion in six years which will nearly double the terminal’s throughput capacity to one million TEUs per year by 2025,” said chief commercial officer, Beth Branch.
Another key project coming online in 2025 is the deepening and widening of the ship channel, which has been fully funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the State of Alabama. Once complete, the 50-foot draft federal channel will make the Port of Mobile the deepest port in the Gulf of Mexico and allow neo-panamax sized vessels up to 14,000 TEU to fully load, further increasing capacity and attracting shippers.
The Alabama State Port Authority oversees the deep-water public port facilities at the Port of Mobile. The Port Authority’s container, general cargo and bulk facilities have immediate access to two interstate systems, five Class I railroads, nearly 15,000 miles of inland waterways and air cargo connections.
