A current poll being carried out by PTI has shown that out of a total of over 2,780 voters, 94.6% of voters have said that investing in automation is the most pressing need for port terminals.
Ship sizes are continuing to expand, as well as global shipping alliances, as was recently the case with the OCEAN Alliance between CMA CGM, China Cosco Shipping, Evergreen Line and OOCL. Automation has long been heralded as a primary solution to this, with terminals globally adopting semi-automated processes, and a select few terminals adopting full automation.
While also improving safety, automated practices can improve environmental efficiency and logistical dependability.
To vote in the poll, click here
PTI is due to host its own Terminal Automation & Training conference on June 8, 2016 in London, in which experts will come together to discuss automation as a cost-effective and productive solution for global container terminals.
Read more about the conference here
Automation, despite its powerful potential, remains an expensive outlay and can court controversy when implemented in strongly unionised ports and terminals. These issues will be explored at the PTI conference in the session “The Misconceptions of Automation”.
The result in the ongoing poll however is clear evidence that the port sector sees great value in automation and heavily backs it as a solution to the many major problems and difficulties contemporary ports face.
