APM Terminals to assume trucking, inland depot operations

RESPONSIBILITY for the AP Moller-Maersk Group's involvement in inland trucking and container depot development is expected to fall to APM Terminals (APMT) after being managed by the parent company's container shipping and related activities division.

"The hope is that the service will in future appeal more to all of our customers, not just to Maersk Line and Safmarine," said a APM Terminals spokesman, reports Containerisation International.

As a result of the move APM Terminals will be competing with the likes of ECT, Eurogate and HHLA, who "have long argued that container terminal operators are better placed than most to provide the service as an extension of their port operations," the report said.

The report added that through APM Terminal's involvement in inland operations, shippers will in future be given the option to directly negotiate inland haulage and depot deals, eliminating the need to negotiate through ocean carriers or logistics agents, it said.

Source: www.schednet.com