Port of Virginia Blog

Amazon Chooses Virginia for Fulfillment Centers

Richmond -- Governor Bob McDonnell and Amazon.com Inc. today (Thursday, Dec. 22) announced the company's plans to open two fulfillment centers in Virginia, investing a total of $135 million.

"Amazon is known all over the world, and the new centers in Chesterfield and Dinwiddie counties will fulfill orders across the United States," McDonnell said. "The establishment of these new operations is testament to the positive business climate and success the company has experienced in the Commonwealth."

The company will invest $85 million and create more than 1,000 jobs in Chesterfield County, and invest $50 million in Dinwiddie County, creating more than 350 jobs.

The skill and availability of the region's workforce were key factors in Amazon's decision, said Jim Cheng, Virginia secretary of Commerce and Trade. The new facilities are expected to be complete next fall.

"Chesterfield and Dinwiddie counties were chosen for this significant project due to the ease and speed with which the facilities can be built and become operational," Cheng said.

Amazon's fulfillment centers in Virginia will be operated by Amazon.com.kydc LLC.

CSX to Begin its On-Dock Service at APMT on Jan. 3, 2012

Norfolk -- CSX Transportation will begin the start of on-dock rail services at the Virginia Port Authority's APM Terminal in Portsmouth on Jan. 3, 2012.

With the conversion to on-dock rail service at APMT, customers will have the service that has been offered via drayage, but CSX will now use a rail connection with the Commonwealth Railway in Suffolk to access APMT. The new on-dock rail service builds upon the railroad's National Gateway initiative to improve connectivity and efficiency between US East Coast ports and the Midwest.

As transition to this improved service connection, note the following:

• Customers with rail traffic originating at or destined to APMT should continue to rail bill their shipments as 'Portsmouth APMT'.
• Existing CSX rates for Portsmouth APMT will still apply after the service is converted to rail.
• All traffic en route at the time of the service conversion will be monitored closely and transferred by dray to APMT if it arrives at the CSX Portsmouth local ramp.

CSX will continue to provide rail service at the CSX Portsmouth ramp as well as drayage service between Norfolk International Terminal (NIT) and Portsmouth ramp in coordination with Virginia International Terminals.

November TEU Total Tops 163,000 TEUs

Norfolk – In November, the port handled 163,945 TEUs, a decrease of of 8,831 TEUs when compared with October. In November 2010, the port handled 163,211 TEUs. The 2011 vs. 2010 TEU totals are, respectively, 1,763,728 vs. 1,756,566. The port's TEU volume is up .4 percent on a year-to-date comparison with 2010 totals.

The year-to-date breakbulk tonnage is 318,907 tons vs. 224,744 tons for the same period in 2010; an increase of 41.9 percent. Breakbulk tonnage in November was 29,494 tons.

Calendar year TEU totals, 2011 vs. 2010:

• November 2011 = 163,945
• November 2010 = 163,211
• October 2011 =172,776
• October 2010 = 175,518
• September 2011 = 164,050
• September 2010 = 153,006
• August 2011 = 151,980
• August 2010 = 175,122
• July 2011 = 167,076
• July 2010 = 153,944
• June 2011 = 151,448
• June 2010 = 160,701
• May 2011 = 158,538
• May 2010 = 161,535
• April 2011 = 167,157
• April 2010 = 147,119
• March 2011 = 159,753
• March 2010 = 167,262
• February 2011 = 153,646
• February 2010 = 155,049
• January 2011 = 159,265
• January 2010 = 144,097

Federal Government Continues its Commitment to Craney Island Project

Washington, DC – The federal government's commitment to the eastward expansion of Craney Island continues as $26.8 million has been included for the project in a new federal spending package, which is awaiting the President's signature.

"This is the third consecutive year that the project has been supported by the federal government and I think that is a sign of the commitment to the project," said Jeff Keever, senior deputy executive director of the Virginia Port Authority. "We would not be in this position if it weren't for the work of our senators and the Congressional delegation."

U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Jim Webb requested the appropriation in the spending legislation Congress approved for the 2012 fiscal year.

In a joint statement Webb and Warner said the expansion is expected to generate more than 1,100 immediate jobs now and 54,000 after construction. Officials anticipate the expansion to be complete in 2020.

Craney Island is the site of the fourth state-owned marine cargo terminal. But before any surface construction begins, the VPA must first expand the island by 600 acres to provide a site suitable for construction of a marine terminal. The terminal will be built in phases and the first phase is the 600-acre expansion.

In December 2010 work began on the first stage of developing the cross dikes. The work consists of dredging 1.2 million cubic yards of sand from the Atlantic Ocean Channel and building the initial sand lifts required to construct two cross dikes.

The total cost of the eastward expansion is $700 million and that will be done through a 50-50 cost-share agreement with the federal government. The projected cost for completion of multi-phase terminal project is $2.2 billion.

"We think that by this time next year we should begin seeing the outline of the project – the eastward expansion – breaking the waterline," Keever said. "This is when the project will become real for a lot of people because they'll actually be able to see it; right now all the work is being done below the surface."

Above: An rendering of the completed Craney Island Marine Terminal.

New Intermodal Ramp Will Give Port Greater Access to Tri-State Market

Washington, DC -- The U.S Department of Transportation yesterday announced the West Virginia Ports Authority will receive a $12 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery III (TIGER III) grant from the to help fund construction of a long-planned intermodal terminal along Norfolk Southern Railway's Heartland Corridor near Prichard, WVA.

In 2010, the port authority delayed development of the facility because of the soft economy and a lack of private developer interest in the terminal. Now, construction is slated to start next year. The facility will provide industries in the tri-state area of West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio more modern and efficient freight container service and enhanced access to international rail lines.

The terminal is part of NS' Heartland Corridor, a double-stack intermodal route between The Port of Virginia and Chicago that opened the corridor in September 2010. The development of this intermodal site will give The Port of Virginia greater access to customers in the tri-state area, officials from the Virginia Port Authority said.

Rubbermaid Expanding Operations, Building DC Near Inland Port

Richmond – Governor Bob McDonnell has announced that Rubbermaid Commercial Products will invest $67.25 million to expand operations in the City of Winchester and establish a distribution operation in Frederick County.

The company, best known for its commercial cleaning, materials management, washroom and foodservice products, will add a total of 71 new jobs. In Winchester, Rubbermaid is investing in high-technology, energy-efficient injection molding machines to upgrade the facility's production capability. In Frederick County, the company will retrofit an existing 454,000-square-foot facility into a state-of-the-art logistics center.

"Rubbermaid Commercial Products has been in operation in Winchester since 1968, and I am pleased that the company will now establish a distribution center in nearby Frederick County," McDonnell said. "This significant investment is a logistics strategy that will streamline the manufacture and distribution of the products."

"Proximity to the Virginia Inland Port and the Port of Virginia gives the company direct access to its international and domestic customers, and is an advantage that sets the Commonwealth apart from its competition," said Jim Cheng, Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade. "In addition, the availability of an existing facility in Frederick County, located near the company's operation in Winchester, was attractive to Rubbermaid to retrofit for its new logistics center."

Rubbermaid Commercial Products, headquartered in Winchester, is a manufacturer of products in the food services, sanitary maintenance, waste handling, material transport, away-from-home and washroom and safety products for commercial and institutional markets worldwide.

VPA’s Quillen is Magazine’s 2011 Virginia Business Person of the Year

Norfolk – Michael J. Quillen, the chairman of the Virginia Port Authority Board of Commissioners, was named the 2011 Virginia Business Person of the Year by Virginia Business magazine. When not in Norfolk tending to the business of making The Port of Virginia the nation's top seaport, Quillen leads Alpha Natural Resources, a company he has grown into an international force.

From the magazine:

"Quillen champions the coal mining industry and its significance to Southwest Virginia as an economic lifeline. In 2002 the Gate City native started a company with seven people. Through acquisitions it has grown into a global industry leader. After the Massey deal, Alpha more than doubled its work force to 14,000, 2,150 of whom work in Virginia. It operates 34 mines and five coal preparation plants in the state.

Quillen, 62, didn't start out in coal mining. After graduating from Virginia Tech in 1970 with a degree in civil engineering, he worked a short time for Southern Railway before returning to Tech for a master's degree. Then he went to work for the Virginia Department of Transportation.

He got his start in the coal industry in 1974 when his father, H.B.  "Jack" Quillen, and a couple of business partners hired him as the foreman/engineer at a small surface mine in Gate City. After nine months, his father — who had worked previously in insurance — sold his interest.  But Quillen stayed in the business, rising to leadership positions at several coal companies, including Pittston Coal Co. and Amvest Corp."

The whole story can be read here:

http://www.virginiabusiness.com/index.php/news/article/running-right

Gov’s Trade Mission to Asia Begins to Pay Dividends

Richmond – Governor Bob McDonnell today (Dec. 14) announced that the first of new shipments of soybeans from Perdue Agribusiness' deep water export facility in Chesapeake have arrived in China.

The shipments were secured in a trade deal between the Dandong Port Group Co. and its affiliate Dandong Pasite Grain and Oilseed Co. Ltd. and Perdue Agribusiness as a result of the trade and economic development mission Gov. McDonnell led to Asia earlier this year. The vessel carrying the soybeans, Corviglia, left Chesapeake in late October and arrived at the Port of Dandong on Monday night.

The deal has the potential to make China Virginia's top agricultural export recipient, the governor said. Last year, Virginia agricultural exports to China reached $194 million. A Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service international marketing and development specialist hand-delivered a letter from Gov. McDonnell to the chairman of the Dandong Port Group Co., reaffirming the relationship between the company and Virginia and looking forward to increased opportunities for purchases of Virginia agricultural products.

"I am certain that these deals also lay the foundation of what is sure to be a long-term and mutually beneficial relationship between the Commonwealth of Virginia and Liaoning Province.  The addition of this new market in China will support Perdue Agribusiness' operations in Virginia, our agricultural producers, and other farm-related jobs in Virginia," the governor said.

"Further, it has established a new trade relationship in China with great potential for growth.  I look forward to returning to China at some point in 2012 to seek further opportunities for trade with Virginia."

McDonnell to Host Transportation Conference Dec. 7-9

Norfolk – Governor Bob McDonnell will host the 2011 Governor's Transportation Conference, themed Virginia - The Gateway to the World. The conference will be held Dec.7-9 at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott Hotel, 235 E. Main Street in downtown Norfolk.

The governor will be joined by Transportation Secretary Sean T. Connaughton, Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez and numerous transportation, government and legislative leaders to discuss Virginia's transportation projects and programs, as well as upcoming transportation and legislative initiatives.

“This is an exciting time for transportation in Virginia. With our nearly $4 billion transportation plan advanced by the General Assembly earlier this year, the public and private sector are working together to make critical investments in Virginia's roads, rail, transit, port, aviation and spaceport,” McDonnell said. “These investments will chart Virginia's future, benefiting commuters and creating jobs, economic development and enhancing the Commonwealth's competitive edge in the global economy. We welcome participants and guests alike to this event in one of Virginia's premier transportation centers.”

The conference will feature sessions on:

• Projects of statewide and regional significance
• Launching the future from Virginia's commercial spaceport
• The importance of multimodal transportation to Virginia's global competitiveness
• Creating connections through transportation choices
• DMV as a gateway to service
• Advancing the transportation program through VDOT's new business plan
• Virginia's global aviation access
• Alternative fuel infrastructure in Virginia
• 2012 transportation funding and legislative initiatives

The Commonwealth Transportation Board and other committee meetings will be conducted during the week. A boat tour of APM Terminals in Portsmouth, the new Jordan Bridge and the Midtown/Downtown Tunnels project will be available to attendees. Static displays will also be featured at an outdoor and indoor “Transportation Village.” Passes to ride Norfolk’s light rail system will be available upon request to the conference’s guests.

The governor will speak to the conferees on Thursday, Dec. 8. The full agenda and registration can be found at: www.vatransconf.org.

On Dec. 6, the Inaugural Virginia Freight Transportation Summit will be held at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott Hotel.