Two months after its official opening, APM Terminals' new US$450 million port facility is filling up with cargo containers, and ships, trucks and trains come and go regularly.
The terminal, located off the Western Freeway, is touted as one of the world's most technologically advanced port operations. One of its key innovative features is an array of 30 semi-automated cranes for quickly stacking and unstacking the multitudes of truck-size containers.
Griff Lynch, APM Terminals Virginia's senior director, said the 230-acre terminal is facing some growing pains as it builds to full speed amid the peak holiday shipping season. Because of delays at the entrance, it's taking trucks too long to get in and out of the terminal, he said. The goal is 20 minutes for a truck to pick up or drop off a container, but the average has been 45 to 50 minutes since the terminal opened, he said.
Shirley Roebuck, general manager of Gilco Trucking in Portsmouth, said terminal calls have taken even longer in the past two weeks, averaging three hours. She called that unacceptable. She said APM has been giving truckers gift certificates to Applebee's restaurant to compensate.
Lynch said the main reason for the longer times is that an appointment system for truckers is not yet fully implemented. When the Internet-based system is up and running by early next year, truckers will be able to let APM know in advance what containers they are moving and when they are arriving. That will speed up processing at the terminal's entrance and allow APM to prepare for the container pick up.
Roebuck said some delays also stem from truckers having to register on their first visit. That can slow down truckers who already are signed up.
Lynch said that APM has consolidated its Hampton Roads operations at the new facility, vacating a 71-acre tract adjacent to Portsmouth Marine Terminal three months early. It has leased that land from the Virginia Port Authority and the city of Portsmouth since the early 1970s. The Port Authority will absorb that land into its Portsmouth terminal.
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