TOP 10 US Pharmaceutical Ocean Imports

After attending my first Cold Chain GDP & Temperature Management Logistics Global Forum , I was intrigued by the level of conversation surrounding the use of ocean freight. A major shift is underway from transporting temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals by air to ocean. One large pharmaceutical manufacturer’s transportation split is now 60% ocean. Besides the obvious lower costs why else would pharmaceutical manufacturers use a mode of transport that is so much slower? I asked several people this question while at the conference and each noted that the handling of goods was much better. However, a few manufacturers commented that knowing more about port offerings and service levels specifically for temperature-specific pharmaceuticals would be beneficial. So, in this article, we’re going to briefly take a look at the top ten US pharmaceutical ocean imports by harmonized system district.

A couple of housekeeping items first. The source for the data is the US Census Bureau’s USA Trade Online . It’s a free service and provides monthly data by harmonized code, trade partner, volume and value of goods. For this ranking, we are using harmonized code 30 – Pharmaceutical Products – which includes more than temperature-controlled medications and we provide rankings by value and volume.

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New York offers numerous temperature controlled and refrigerated cargo service providers including C.R. England, Port Jersey Logistics and New York Container Terminal. In addition, a general free trade zone is available for warehousing purposes. Among the customers taking advantage of this are Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck.

Charleston has targeted refrigerated items, specifically food. The South Carolina Port Authority is spending $18.5 million to upgrade its on-site refrigerated cargo facilities. This includes a new refrigerated cargo yard, more electric outlets for refrigerated boxes and a denser stacking arrangement for those containers at the Wando Welch Terminal in Mount Pleasant, the port’s largest container terminal. The top five cold cargo categories for 2014 were fresh and frozen meats other than poultry; grapefruits and lemons; pharmaceuticals; and miscellaneous grocery products.

Savannah is similar to Charleston in that it too focuses more on food products. According to the Georgia Port Authority’s website, it offers the most refrigerated container capacity of any US east or gulf coast terminal. On-terminal refrigerated container handling infrastructure includes 2,016 reefer rack plugged slots, 738 wheeled plugged refrigerated container slots and two refrigerated container wash areas with 21 lanes. Off-terminal Savannah-area cold storage facilities include Gulf States (14,400 m2); Lineage Logistics – Savannah (15,489 m2); Lineage Logistics - Rincon, GA (23,746 m2) and Nordic Cold Storage (18,581 m2)

Norfolk cargo traffic includes aluminum, machinery, consumer goods, produce, frozen seafood, project cargo, wire coils and rods, pipe, bottle water, steel and steel products, chemicals, textiles, pharmaceuticals, forest products, and aplite. The Portsmouth Marine Terminal includes refrigerated hook-ups, specialized warehouse space, fumigation facilities and straddle-carrier container stacking.

Los Angeles notes on its website that it handles almost 1 million metric tons of fruit annually. In addition to fruit, local cold-storage facilities handle meat, fish and shell fish and other perishable products that need refrigerated storage. Repacking services, blast freezing, USDA inspections, reefer logistics and other services are provided. Cold storage facilities located close to the port include Konoike E Street, Kpac, Americold, Preferred Freezer Services and Maruzen.

Philadelphia Tioga Marine Terminal and Pier 82 provide cold chain services. Tioga is the largest terminal and provides a multi-purpose facility handling a diverse range of cargoes including an 8,370 square meter temperature-controlled warehousing facility. Pier 82 focuses on perishable goods including fruits and vegetables. It offers a 12,077 sq. m heated/chilled facility with humidification system and two high racking throughout.

Baltimore Seagirt Marine Terminal has about 240 reefer outlets and has direct access to Class I railroad, CSX. Operated by Ports America, the terminal has a 50-foot deep container berth and four super Post-Panamax cranes.

Miami is the only US port designated as a U.S. Customs Center of Excellence and Expertise for Agriculture and Prepared Products. It has 1,000 reefer plugs and USDA authorization for on/off port fumigation. In addition its rail and highway connections are able to reach 70% of the U.S. population in 4 days or less.

Houston Barbour Point terminal offers a refrigerated food warehouse and its Baypoint Terminal container yard is 199 acres with grounded RTG operation along with wheeled slots for reefer and OOG cargo and 544 reefer slots.

San Francisco The cargo terminal has five berths, on-dock rail, cold storage facilities, paved cargo staging areas, and more than five hectares of covered storage that includes 625 reefer outlets.

Conclusion

As one can tell by the brief description of each district, much of the cold chain emphasis is on food and beverage and other perishables. In next month’s article, we will take a look at the top US import airports to see what specific temperature-controlled pharmaceutical services are offered.