Each week Forkliftaction keeps you up to date on exactly what is happening in the global materials handling market. Here is your July-August Roundup of the latest coverage for ports and cargo handling, from financial news to automation, developments in hydrogen power and new equipment orders.

In August - A drought-related traffic jam in the Panama Canal diverts about 20% of the volume of freight to the East Coast of the United States to the West Coast.

The Port of Savannah adds four electric Konecranes ship-to-shore (STS) cranes as part of Georgia Ports Authority’s (GPA’s) infrastructure improvement plan.

Hyster ships a hydrogen fuel cell reachstacker to the Port of Valencia in Spain as part of the H2Ports project.

Qatar’s QTerminals Group agrees to buy a majority stake in Kramer Group, giving it access to the largest port in Europe.

Seaports around the world are forecast to deploy more than 370,000 automated guided vehicles (AGVs) by 2027 to overcome congestion, according to ABI Research.

The Port of Mombasa adds four new ship-to-shore (STS) gantry cranes to boost productivity and reduce ship working times, the government-owned Kenya Ports Authority says.

The Spanish government gets involved in APM Terminals’ USD60 million program to pilot electrification projects at its ports.

Local authorities in New Orleans in the United States file a lawsuit seeking to block a proposed USD1.8 billion international container terminal.

Patrick Terminals adds 10 Kalmar hybrid straddle carriers to its Melbourne terminal as the company seeks to reduce its carbon footprint.

---------

In July - Konecranes reports an increase in order intake and sales in the first half of this year but also warns of ongoing volatility in worldwide demand for materials handling.

Rocsys secures EUR 33 million (USD 37 million) to further develop its autonomous charging solutions for electric transport. The Rocsys system is suitable for port equipment and industrial and heavy-duty applications. 

Finnish cargo handling manufacturer Cargotec reports an increase in sales and profits for the first half of 2023, with a decline in orders back to pre-covid levels. 

Giant Japanese conglomerate Mitsui, RWE, the United Kingdom’s largest power generator, and the Port of Tilbury signs a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for two green hydrogen projects at the port in Essex.

APM Terminals receives two additional ZPMC automated straddle carriers as part of a pilot project at its yard in Aarhus. The original prototype ‘Blue Bot’ was installed at the facility in 2022.

Misurata Free Zone, the operator of the Port of Misurata in Libya, hires Hamburg Port Consulting (HPC) to oversee procurement and construction for three ship-to-shore (STS) container gantry cranes.

Copenhagen Malmö Port (CMP) is set to add eight Konecranes hybrid straddle carriers and two ship-to-shore cranes to its new container terminal in Copenhagen.

And while you are here... read about all the materials handling highlights at TOC Europe in June, where Sustainability was a strong theme.

Looking to stay on top of the global materials handling market?

Subscribe free to Forkliftaction’s weekly news coverage and gain access to a number of other member exclusive content including safety blogs and the latest product releases. Your membership will also unlock a number of benefits including the posting of all your materials handling job vacancies, technical troubleshooting in the forums and the sourcing of new and used mobile machinery via our Machinery-onQ trading platform.

Subscribe to Forkliftaction HERE.