DC Velocity - January 2013

PERFORMANCE PROFILE

A DC VELOCITY SPEED CHALLENGE

First Gateway

Presented by The Port of New York & New Jersey

Proximity to the densely populated New York City metropolitan area is one of many reasons the Port of New York & New Jersey handles more first-in vessel calls than all other East Coast ports combined.

OFTEN THE RESILIENCY OF A SUPPLY CHAIN CAN BE BEST MEASURED when it is tested under the most extreme circumstances. For many customers of the Port of New York & New Jersey, that test came in the form of Hurricane Sandy. Being in the center of the storm’s wrath, all of the terminals at the port were blasted by the record high winds and a 14-foot storm surge. “We had four feet of water across our pier. Our buildings, equipment, and people were all affected,” notes Jim Pelliccio, president of Port Newark Container Terminal.

Electrical systems were damaged, offices were flooded, chassis were destroyed, and empty containers were tossed around like toys and shredded. Yet even while port workers were coping with the devastation of their own homes, they worked tirelessly to recover port operations within just a few days.

“It did not set us back; it just changed our mode of operation,” adds Pelliccio. “It just shows what people can do when there is a crisis.”

At the heart Being at the center of action is nothing new to the Port of New York & New Jersey. As the gateway to the most populous part of the nation, the port’s six terminals receive more first-in vessel calls than all other East Coast ports combined. Goods can reach one-third of U.S. and half of all Canadian consumers within 24 hours of hitting the NY/NJ berths. That is a responsibility the terminal operators take very seriously, and why they worked to restore operations so quickly following Sandy. The drive for superior service is also the reason why the Port Authority has invested over $2 billion in the past decade modernizing the port’s infrastructure, with terminal operators making hefty investments in their facilities as well.

Many of these investments have been made in anticipation of the widening of the Panama Canal, which will bring larger ships to the East Coast. They include the deepening of channels to 50 feet to accommodate post-Panamax ships, the planned raising of the Bayonne Bridge to 215 feet above water, roadways that provide greater capacity and safety, and state-of-the-art tracking and communications systems that help customers know where their cargo is at all times.

Rail call The port and railroads have also partnered to make significant improvements to prepare for higher volumes from the canal. All three major railroads (CSX, Norfolk Southern, and Canadian Pacific) serve the port, providing quick double-stack connections to Eastern and Midwest markets, including fast dedicated service to Chicago and points west, such as Kansas City, St. Louis, and even the West Coast. Detroit, Cleveland, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Worcester, and Montreal are also served daily from the port. Construction is currently under way to add a fourth on-dock rail facility to the port – this one at Global Terminal in Jersey City. Expansion is also occurring at ExpressRail Newark.

CSX’s investments in recent years include the raising of the Bergen and
Waldo Tunnels in Jersey City to allow taller, dou-
ble-stacked trains to swiftly leave the port area.
New sidings and the addition of double track in
strategic locations also allow greater traffic flow.
CSX moves more than 300,000 containers inland
by rail annually, with a large number of them
moving to Chicago via its direct express train.
“We have a superior route that gets us quick-
ly to the Midwest and that is at grade. Since we don’t have to go
through the mountains, it is fuel efficient and very competitive,” says
Vance Bennett, director of port development and strategy at CSX.

Norfolk Southern has also made major investments that have increased speed and capacity. More than 100,000 containers passed to the line from ExpressRail Elizabeth and Staten Island in 2012. NS offers direct service to Chicago and other destinations, which has grown in capacity as cargo has shifted from West to East.

“Historically, most freight heading from Asia to points in the East and
Midwest moved through West Coast ports. As we have focused on devel-
oping capacity and infrastructure, that has shifted to where 60 percent
now comes through the East Coast,” says Jeff Heller, NS’s group vice
president of international intermodal. “For cargo passing through the
Suez Canal and from Europe, the first port they come to is the Port of
New York & New Jersey. We take advantage of that with greater capaci-
ty, and we have all of the options available to serve the larger ships.”
These enhancements assure that freight at the Port of New York &
New Jersey remains on track.