The Harbor Performance Enhancement Center announced Monday that it has completed a strategic transaction with Macquarie Principal Finance to provide capital for the development of a 5.5-million-square-foot container staging hub located at Terminal Island in the Port of Los Angeles.
The HPEC, a $130 million public-private partnership dedicated to facilitating sustainable freight movement and supply chain efficiencies, said it will transform 110 acres that is currently fallow and use the latest technology and a unique set of operating capabilities to improve shipping. Once completed, the goal is to have 3,500 truckloads per day from nearby container terminals move to the HPEC staging area that will improve efficiency and reduce emissions at the port, according to Jonathan Rosenthal, founder/CEO of HPEC.
“The HPEC development presents a truly unique opportunity to make the San Pedro Harbor the most competitive gateway for transpacific freight while reducing community impacts of the nation’s most important artery,” Rosenthal said. “In Macquarie we have found an industry-leading partner that shares our commercial vision and our public/private mission — to be the first privately-owned firm that enhances the performance objectives of surrounding intermodal freight facilities throughout the United States and eventually around the world. HPEC will increase productivity at the Port by 10 percent or more.”
HPEC will use a system perfected by companies such as Federal Express, UPS, and Yellow Freight that reduces transportation costs, improves cycle times, and reduces inventory while improving the distribution processes, according to Rosenthal.
Alex Cherin, executive director of the California Trucking Association’s Intermodal Conference, welcomed the news.
“HPEC’s innovative approach will relieve congestion throughout the region, increase cargo velocity through the Port, lower handling costs, reduce emissions and dramatically improve freight flow efficiencies in the San Pedro Bay complex,” Cherin said. “With HPEC coming online, the trucking community and its customers will have one start-stop location to pick up and drop off containers, distributing to regional hubs around the clock. This is one of the most important projects in the nation and will be a real game changer.”