APM Terminals' Frank Tazelaar sees a future speckled with automated terminals, particularly in north-western Europe and the US.
“Market dynamics will dictate automation,” he says. “In addition, the part of the industry that is developing automated solutions is becoming more mature. The more players that enter the market, the more mature solutions there will be, which, in turn, will lower the entry barrier for other players to step in.”
Asked whether there are minimum throughput thresholds to justify an automated system using AGVs, DP World's Bruno de Jonghe says there is no magical formula. However, “It is clear that with the huge effort involved in the development and implementation of such systems, it is unlikely that small terminals could be automated, leaving AGVs to be the preserve of larger operations.
"Of course, everything depends on the local situation. But there is certainly one tendency: with more automated terminals coming on stream, the technology involved will become more developed and accepted, which could mean we will see more medium-sized terminals adopting it.”
Mr Tazelaar has a slightly different take, noting that, “It is clear that you do need a certain threshold of throughput to justify automated systems. In fact, I don't know whether a facility with a lower throughput could justify automation of the type we are implementing.”
In the first phase development, the company's Maasvlakte II terminal will have an area of 600,000 m², eventually rising to 860,000 m². This will give it a 2.5m teu-3m teu capacity, after which it will continue to grow.
He is also unclear whether many terminals outside of Europe or North America are ready for automation.
“Implementing automation on a more modest scale outside the northern hemisphere would be an interesting barrier to break,” he says.
When asked if he expects more automation in container terminals in the future, Cargotec's Jorma Tirkkonen says that many terminals look set to introduce automated horizontal transportation system. Whether this will be AGVs, AutoShuttles, AutoStrads, or something else all together, depends on the individual features of each site, encompassing such things as traffic patterns and other factors.
He says that traffic volume per se is not the real issue, because each site has its own unique features and drivers and it is these that define the final solution.
“In general, our AutoStrad system can undertake all container handling tasks in a terminal, although is best suited to smaller facilities. It also requires much lower investment cost compared to a solution involving full automatic stacking cranes and automated horizontal transportation system setups.”
Mr de Jonghe notes that while most automated terminals have chosen AGVs, several other automated alternatives do exist. “As a result, it is almost certain that, in a couple of years, the automated terminals landscape will have assumed a much more diversified look,” he says.
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