The U.K.’s leading container ports are deferring the construction of new terminals, freezing investments and laying off workers in a bid to conserve cash amid slumping box volumes.
Felixstowe, Britain’s biggest box port, seeks to cut around 180 jobs from its 2,800 payroll to cap costs after container traffic fell 16 percent in January from a year earlier and 2009 volume is forecast to drop significantly.
Felixstowe’s parent, Hutchison Ports, is offering employees career breaks of up to one year or 25 percent of their basic salary as well as shorter hours and fewer shifts.
But the port, which handled 3.3 million TEUs in 2007, is pressing ahead with a 240 million-pound ($348 million) project to boost its annual capacity to 5.3 million TEUs. The first 440 meters (1,450 feet) of quay is scheduled to open in April 2010.
Other ports are cutting payrolls and hours, too, including DP World at Southampton where box volumes have tumbled as carriers slash services, particularly on the Asia-Europe route.
PD Ports has delayed construction of a 1.5 million-TEU terminal at Teesport in northeast England by at least a year to early 2010. Teesport's Container traffic has fallen by around 15 percent in the past few months.
APM Terminals has played down reports it is considering its first investment in the U.K., a 1.5 million-TEU-a-year container terminal at the Port of Bristol. APM has only conducted a study with Bristol Port Co., according to spokesman Thomas Boyd. With box volumes declining, this is not the time to consider such a major project, he said.
The slowdown in traffic might force other ports to reconsider expansion plans. The Port of Liverpool will decide by June on the timescale for a planned 600,000-TEU terminal. Hutchison has planning approval for a 1.7 million-TEU box terminal at Harwich in southeast England.
Other projects are already under way, including DP World’s 3.5 million-TEU London Gateway hub that is due to receive its first ship by late 2010 or early 2011.
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