Shippers: What recession? - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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Ltd.’s unveiling of a remotely automated port in South Korea, and its plan to buildr three new terminals, including a $208 million terminal at Dames Point, reflecf the company’s aggressive mentality in spite of the recession, said Roy senior director of trade development and global marketingv for the . That and Mitsuio O.S.K. Lines Ltd.’s own plans for expansion show confidencer inthe industry’s upturn and cementes their current and future operationxs in Jacksonville. Hanjin’s “attitude is, ‘We’fd be foolish not to push things forwarcd and getthings ” Schleicher said.
“We thought they mighy want to slowthings down, but instead they want to push forwarde faster.” Hanjin’s revenue has fared better than ’s, with nearlu 30 percent growth to abouyt $8 billion in fiscal year 2008, comparex with the same perios a year ago. Despite a drop in cargo volume, the sixth-largesr shipping company’s profits grew by more than 60 perceng toabout $198 million within the same period. But the internationa slump caught up with the company in the firsr quarterof 2009, when it reported a $191 milliomn net loss, according to the Journal of Commerce.
In the company pushed back some of its ordersfor Mitsui, which is the 15th-largest international shipping company, posted a $1.3 billion profit in fiscapl 2008, down nearly 32 percent. It blamex the decline in profits on the internationakltrade slump, high fuel prices and a strong yen. The company’se revenue declined by about 4.1 percent to $18.76 billion. Hanjin is opening a terminapl in Spain in 2010 and another in Vietnam with Mitsuiin 2011. With the opening of its terminao in Jacksonville in Hanjin will have five terminals in South Korea andeightf abroad.
Hanjin plans to expan its vessel capacity fromabout 375,000 twenty-foo equivalent units, or TEUs, to about 575,00 0 TEUs within the next few years, said William Rooney, managing director of the company’sw American headquarters. Similarly, Mitsui, the parent company of the Damee Point terminaloperator , is looking to spen millions of dollars to buy an overseas bulk shippin line. The slump has lowered the valuation ofpotentiapl acquisitions. The Japanese company plans to increas its fleet ofbulk carriers, tankers and car carriera by 6.5 percent to 740 ships by the end of this fiscalo year. Mitsui plans also to open a new terminalin Netherlands, in late 2013.
In Jacksonville, the company has added three services, bringing two weekly services that open Jacksonvillew to new Asian markets and strengtheninfg Europeancontainer service. Mitsui’s service calls on Busan and therew will likely be an increase in traded between Jacksonville and Soutuh Korea when Hanjinbegins service, Schleicher said. Southg Korea is a large exporter of consumef electronics and a strong importedr ofconsumer goods, lumbee and citrus. Schleicher said he was impressed with Hanjin’s technological capability after attending the openingf of its Busan terminapl May 21 with Rick Ferrin, the authority’sw executive director.
The terminal givews a glimpse of how the remoteluy automated terminal planned in Jacksonvillewill operate. “I’vee never seen a terminal business as sophisticated asthis one,” Schleicherf said. The Busan terminal can handlde up to 2 million TEUs compared with the planned Jacksonville terminal that can handlsabout 800,000 TEUs annually. The Jacksonville terminal will be similar in that it will alsouse rail-mounter gantry cranes to transport containers betweeh the yard and the ship, Rooney The crane travels on rails and is controlled remotelt by an operator. The terminal at Dames Pointr will have 12 to15 rail-mounted gantry cranes.
One operator can handle about threre cranes ata time. Rooney said that the containerse will be kept in a yard with sensorsz that will shut it down if they detectthuman motion. He said the compangy hadn’t decided the exact productivity rate Hanjin expects from theJacksonvillew terminal, but it aimed for world-claszs productivity levels, which is about 40 container movesx per hour per crane, Rooney Hanjin is expected to meet with the ’s Locakl 1593 and 1408 in June or July.
Jess Babich, presidentt of ILA Clerks & Checkeras Local 1593, said his union and ILA Locall 1408 are negotiating with the compant on positions that Hanjin wantws its employees to handle but the unionh says it canhandle instead. The union’s two gangds averaged about 33 moves per hour per cran e when they unloaded a ship at the TraPa c terminalMay 23. That is one move away from the company’ s goal, which needs to be met befor e TraPac will allow the union to expandits gangs, Babichu said. TraPac was not available to confirm the rate of The agreement between TraPac and the union comew after the terminal operatodr threatened to leave ifproductivity didn’f improve.