transpo
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300 Newsome Drive • Yorktown, VA 23692
Phone: (757) 898-1530 • Fax: (757) 898-1580
VERTICAL CONVEYING SOLUTIONS
Like to minimize the cost of
ownership? Ryson can help. Our
Spiral Conveyors need less floor
space than conventional conveyors
and are faster and more reliable than
any elevator or lift. All our products
are designed for low maintenance
and long life and our proprietary
modular construction makes future
reconfiguring cost effective.
High Capacity Spirals The new
Ryson High Capacity Spirals are in
response to our customers need to go
higher and handle more weight. The
load capacity is 75 lbs. per linear foot
of conveyor for speeds up to 200 FPM.
Multiple Entry Spirals The Multiple
Entry Spirals allow loads to enter the
spirals from several different elevations.
A new high speed induction conveyor
provides controlled spiral entry.
The conveyor belts are individually
adjustable to match the spiral pitch.
Quality and service come first at
Ryson. We are the number one
spiral manufacturer in the USA.
For application assistance or more
information, give us a call or visit
www.ryson.com.
Save Space
and Increase
Throughput.
thumb is that each foot of vessel
draft allows a ship to carry an additional 100 loaded containers.
Newsome has said deep water is a
port’s new currency and is staking
almost all of Charleston’s future on
it. Prince, by contrast, said water
depth is not a major factor in a line’s
decision to call at a port, and that
other elements like infrastructure
capabilities and terminal throughput
are more significant. J. Christopher
Lytle, who was head of the Port of
Long Beach before taking the top job
at the Port of Oakland (Calif.) in
May, said rail connections and an
inland port network that radiates cargo
hundreds of miles from a port are just as
critical as water depth. Charleston’s
inland port, 212 miles away in Greer, S.C.,
opened Oct. 14 to limited traffic.
Savannah has an inland port operation at
Cordele, Ga., about 190 miles west. Both
Savannah and Charleston took their cues
from the Virginia Port Authority, which in
1990 developed an inland port in Front
Royal, about 220 miles from Norfolk.
Most important, each authority must
have the portside network already in
place, Lytle said. “They [the ports] have to
show a developed infrastructure, not just
an action plan,” he said. Relationships
with the eastern railroads that haul cargo
from the water to inland ports for distri-
bution by truck throughout the eastern
half of the U.S. will be a key part of any
port strategy, Lytle added. Transporting
cargo to inland ports is not historically
part of a railroad’s business plan, he said.
What seems clear at this point is that ves-
sel operators looking to maximize the
value of expensive megaships are unlikely
to make multiple calls along the East Coast.
Some liners may choose just two ports, one
in the North (either New York or Norfolk)
and one in the south (Charleston,
Savannah, or Miami). Foltz believes most
liners will choose three ports: New York
because of its enormous consumer base,
Norfolk because it rules the geographic
sweet spot midway between New York and
the Southeast ports, and either Charleston
or Savannah. Miami is considered the out-
sider because its location is too far
removed from major population centers
other than south and central Florida.
Conway of Colliers said a port doesn’t
have to throw in the towel if it never gets
to 50 feet. The deep water only matters if a
megaship is fully laden, he said. Besides, as
Savannah has shown, the ability to carve
out compelling service niches like logistics
can overcome any depth deficiencies in a
port’s channel or berth, Conway said.
Newsome doesn’t buy it. If the port’s
future lies with exports, then a 50-foot
ship draft is essential for big vessels to
load up with cargo that is heavier than the
stuff coming into the U.S., he said. “After
2016, 13,000-TEU ships will become the
norm. We have to be ready,” he said. ;
