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Fast container moves pledged

20th May 2004, Page 8
20th May 2004
Page 8
Page 8, 20th May 2004 — Fast container moves pledged
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The new chief at Southampton Container Terminal has promised to deliver a quick turnaround of less than one hour for truck drivers. Chris 'Tindall reports.

Exclusive!

A COMPLETE overhaul of the way Southampton Container Terminal (SCT) handles containers has led to a bold claim by its new managing director that all trucks will be dealt with in less than an hour.

John Buckley, who took over in January, has spearheaded the makeover following a catalogue of delays and congestion endured by hundreds of drivers (CM 6 November 2003).

Speaking exclusively to CM, Buckley accepts operators' perceptions of SCT as "lousy". Their confidence in the port is at an all-time low, he concedes.

But Buckley now says SCT has had a change of focus; essentially centring on its landside operations. This includes separating exports from the delivery process and having dedicated

equipment to deal with them. Trucks carrying empty containers will be directed to a transfer area where the boxes will be removed as soon as possible.

Buckley describes the changes, which should start in July, as "radical" and believes SCT will be able to handle 50% more containers as a result.

"We need a process in place and operating by July to give operators confidence that this plan is going to make things a hell of a lot different round here," Buckley says.

"We want to meet with the big hauliers and show them how it will work. If you can handle 50% more I would think any surges can be dealt with, barring acts of God."

• For more on this see our exclusive interview with John Buckley in the 3 June edition of CM.


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