Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) will have additional capacity for empty containers by mid-year, helping to address current difficulties in logistics faced by stakeholders. This is aside from the port operator’s plan to expand its services beyond operating international gateway ports in Manila and Batangas to operating off-dock container yards, empty container depots, and other ancillary services.
ATI said this is to further enhance logistics cycles for manufacturers, shippers and transporters in support of the country’s growing economy.
“As a trade enabler, we are eyeing to develop more facilities that will leverage on our existing gateway ports in Manila and Batangas to better serve our valued customers,” ATI executive vice president William Khoury said in a statement.
“These projects will establish greater operational synergies to help the industry cope with current logistics challenges and also create growth opportunities in the long-term,” he added.
Aside from operating international gateways Manila South Harbor and Batangas Container Terminal, ATI operates an inland clearance depot (ICD) in Calamba, Laguna.
The ICD is a customs-bonded facility located beside the South Luzon Expressway in Brgy. Mayapa, Calamba, Laguna, and close to major manufacturers and industrial zones located in Cavite, Laguna, and Batangas.
The ICD can consolidate logistics requirements—from handling containers to trucking, storage, brokerage, customs-clearing and other ancillary services—for convenient and seamless shipment deliveries.
With its operational connectivity to ATI’s ports, the ICD essentially delivers cargoes straight from the port to the manufacturers’ doorsteps, making it an ideal one-stop shop partner for just-in-time production cycles, the port operator said. Customs-cleared containers stored at the ICD can quickly be deployed to nearby factories, with franchise trucks on stand-by 24/7.
ATI also operates a two-hectare yard in Sta. Mesa, Manila that supports the operations of Manila South Harbor. The yard facility allows more methodical rotation for trucks, letting them drop off empty containers before proceeding to the port to pick up laden boxes, for a quicker turnaround time.
Stakeholders have for months now complained of high utilization at Manila ports and difficulty in returning empty containers to off-dock container yards. The problems escalated last year due to a confluence of events that included bad weather leading to delayed vessels and berthing issues; high yard utilization at container terminals due to the peak season; limited capacity of outside depots; and trade imbalance (three laden containers coming in against one laden container for export, leading to more empty containers in the country at any given time)—all of which have caused a knock-on effect on the supply chain.
