CONTAINER port terminal operators are being driven to make significant investments to boost capacity to accommodate larger vessels and rising global demand, according to the Global Container Terminal Operators Annual Report 2015.
Published by London's Drewry Maritime Research, it predicts average global container port demand growth of 4.5 per cent per annum through to 2019 and this equates to an additional 168 million TEU of port traffic, bringing the global total to 850 million TEU, the Marine Link of New York reported.
Asia accounts for 60 per cent of the forecast global demand growth. At the same time, the deployment of mega-ships and the formation of new mighty shipping alliances are adding to capacity pressures on terminal operators worldwide.
In response to this, a number of the 23 companies that Drewry considers to be global/international terminal operators are making investments to ramp up capacity over the next five years.
APM Terminals and DP World are the most active in terms of the number of new projects in the pipeline but PSA International is adding the most capacity in absolute terms, particularly, at its home port of Singapore.
Hutchison, CMA CGM, TIL and ICTSI also have significant plans, with the latter's expansion representing a 40 per cent increase over the current capacity of its portfolio.
The primary expansion focus of the global/international terminal operators is greenfield developments in emerging market locations, with acquisition and divestment activity having reduced from last year.
Gulftainer also has ambitious plans, and Shanghai International Ports Group maintains an appetite for international expansion. Meanwhile, financial investors continue to buy and sell stakes in terminal and port companies.
Owning and operating container terminals on an international basis remains a profitable business but is facing significant challenges ahead.
"The typical EBITDA margins for global/international terminal operators remain in a range from 20-45 per cent and the 2014 financial results were much in line with previous years, illustrating the consistency and reliability of container terminal operators?profitability," said top Drewry analyst Neil Davidson.
"However, maintaining these margins will become increasingly challenging in the face of the demands created by bigger ships and alliances," he said.
PORTS
30 August 2015 - 16:43
Container terminal operators forced to invest more to boost capacity
CONTAINER port terminal operators are being driven to make significant investments to boost capacity to accommodate larger vessels and rising global demand, according to the Global Container Terminal Operators Annual Report 2015.
PORTS
30 August 2015 - 16:43
Container terminal operators forced to invest more to boost capacity
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