Global Companies Find Competitive Edge Shipping Through JAXPORT

2 MIN READ

By: Lori Musser
This article appeared in the Summer 2018 issue of JAXPORT Magazine.

Three ocean shipping alliances handle more than 80 percent of the world’s container cargo and all of them call on JAXPORT. As the range of services, efficiency,global coverage and slot availability continues to increase, cargo owners are discovering a competitive edge shipping through JAXPORT.

Two of the largest global alliances call SSA Cooper’s terminal on JAXPORT’s Blount Island. They represent seven global ocean carriers. “The 2M service and the Ocean Alliance service have both had significant growth this past year,” said Frank McBride, SSA Cooper’s Vice President of Florida Operations. “We do our part by working closely with beneficial cargo owners and the trucking community to get cargo delivered in the most timely and efficient ways.”

The TraPac Container Terminal at Dames Point is served by THE Alliance, which enhanced overall service capacity last year by approximately 6,000 TEU per week to more than 21,000 TEU. They added new points of service with port calls in Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Laem Chabang, Thailand; and Xiamen, China; and added greater frequency in Shanghai and Busan, South Korea.

TraPac also offers Hamburg Süd’s weekly service between the U.S. East Coast and South America’s East Coast.

“As shippers discover the advantages that Jacksonville offers, we are seeing greater demand for service through our Dames Point terminal,” said Stephen Edwards, TraPac President and CEO. “We hit all the high notes for our business partners: responsive customer service, expedited cargo moving plus increasing capacity and options.”

EXPANDED CAPACITY SUPPORTS CUSTOMERS’ EFFICIENCIES

Randall Donlen is Director of Transportation for Tapestry, Inc., whose brands include Coach and Kate Spade. Donlen said, “With one
of Tapestry’s primary distribution centers located in close proximity to JAXPORT, ocean carrier capacity into this port is very important to us.

The continuing consolidations in the carrier market concern us, so we were pleased to see the recent expansion of vessel service options from our key origins into JAXPORT, particularly with the new carrier, ONE.” Donlen added, “Not only does this support additional origins with direct calls, it helps mitigate risks associated with relying too much on a narrow selection of services. The ongoing collaboration between JAXPORT and the carriers to expand and improve services will be a benefit to everyone, including the community and businesses in the region.”

Havertys Furniture Companies, Inc. Vice President of Supply Chain Abir Thakurta said, “The Florida markets are important to our business. The diversity of customer needs from coast to coast is a challenge. Our ability to bring in regionalized merchandise directly to our expanded distribution center in Lakeland, Fla., is important in meeting that challenge. The increase in service capacity through JAXPORT has helped us more quickly and efficiently make a broader and targeted assortment of products available for delivery to our customers.”

DEEPER WATER WILL MULTIPLY ECONOMIES OF SCALE

Ocean capacity will continue to increase at JAXPORT, predicts Dave Kalata, JAXPORT’s Director of National Container Accounts. Deepening Jacksonville’s harbor will allow carriers and alliances to carry more and heavier boxes into JAXPORT, optimizing slot utilization.

Large vessels that have been light loading will be able to push vessels to their designed capacity, delivering enviable economies of
scale. And, as a bonus, there will be potential space for the heavier outbound cargoes produced widely in the Southeastern U.S., such as forest products.

For the carrier, optimizing the balance of import and export container equipment and weight differentials is critical science, and with deeper water, asset utilization along the entire supply chain will benefit.