Rail traffic and productivity soars at DP World Southampton

Since the completion of a multi-million pound rail infrastructure project in April this year, the percentage of containers transported to and from DP World Southampton by rail has jumped from 30% to 36% in less than 4 months.

Chris Lewis, Managing Director, DP World Southampton, said:

“Southampton now leads the UK’s major container ports in terms of rail modal share for import and export containers. We are also fortunate in that DP World Southampton has additional rail capacity that can be added to meet growing customer demand without further infrastructure upgrades.”

Truck turnaround times have also improved, with trucks being handled on average within 30 minutes to deliver up to two export containers and collect up to two import containers.

DP World Southampton is also reporting significant productivity improvements on vessel operations with quay crane rates up 20%. These productivity improvements culminated in the terminal creating a new record of an average 160 moves per hour across a single ship’s stay in port.

Chris Lewis added:

“Feedback from our customers indicates we are now leading the UK ports in terms of shipside and landside productivity. A great deal of work has gone into improving our service levels and these improvements are the result of upgraded IT systems, new quay cranes, deeper berths and the dedication of our workforce committed to provide the best possible service for our customers.”

Notes to Editors

DP World aims to enhance customers’ supply chain efficiency by effectively managing container, bulk and other terminal cargo.

The company constantly invests in terminal infrastructure, facilities and people, working closely with customers and business partners to provide quality services today and tomorrow, when and where customers need them.

In taking this customer-centric approach, DP World is building on the established relationships and superior level of service demonstrated at its flagship Jebel Ali facility in Dubai, which has been voted “Best Seaport in the Middle East” for 16 consecutive years.

In 2010, DP World handled nearly 50 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent container units) across its portfolio from the Americas to Asia. With a pipeline of expansion and development projects in key growth markets, including India, China and the Middle East, capacity is expected to rise to around 95 million TEU by 2020, in line with market demand.

www.dpworld.com

(1) As of 11 May 2011