New vehicle export terminal opened by International Trade Minister
10 November 2017
A vehicle export terminal which is part of a £50m investment by ABP in the Port of Southampton, has been officially opened by the Minister of State for International Trade, the Rt Hon Greg Hands MP
The Port of Southampton is the UK hub for automotive with nine lines undertaking 110 calls to 52 ports in 40 countries every month – making it a huge asset for the UK.
At a ceremony attended by leaders in the automotive industry and civic dignitaries, the International Trade Minister welcomed the opportunity to mark the milestone opening of the terminal which will support a range of UK vehicle manufacturers, including Jaguar Land Rover.
International Trade Minister, Greg Hands said:
“The Port of Southampton is key to the UK’s exporting success, meeting global demand for UK goods with £40 billion of British-made products shipped out each year for destinations across the world.
“As the UK’s busiest vehicle handling port, the launch of the new export terminal will move Britain into fifth gear when it comes to world car exports. This will give a boost to leading British car manufacturers like Jaguar Land Rover by ensuring their cars are able to reach global marketplaces faster.”
James Cooper CEO of ABP said:
“Southampton is the UK’s number one port for exports, handling exports worth some £40 billion, and it is the UK’s number one for vehicle exports.
“The port is a critical part of the supply chain for the British automotive industry, providing essential access to global markets.
“The opening of this terminal will build on this critical role and support our customers’ drive to continue to grow their exports well into the future.”
Alastair Welch, ABP Southampton Director said:
“ABP has already invested more than £32m over the past five years to support the growth in vehicle exports.
“We continue to work closely with our customers to ensure that this growth can be sustained.
"The investment is testimony to the performance of the Port of Southampton and will help increase the port’s vital contribution to the regional and national economy.”
Southampton is also the UK’s Number one for exports to non EU countries, handling £36 billion worth of goods destined for customers outside the continental bloc.
Uniquely, nearly a third of these arrive for export on up to five daily trains.
The terminal, which will be known as the Pacific Terminal, has been completed ahead of schedule and delivers 3,400 additional spaces.
ABP Southampton…
• UK’s number one port for export
• Contributes £1 billion to the UK economy every year
• Supports 15,000 jobs nationally
• UK’s number one cruise port welcoming 1.9 million passengers each year
• Handles on average 14 million tonnes of commodities each year
ABP is the UK’s leading ports operator with 21 ports and other transport related businesses creating a unique national network capable of handling a vast array of cargo.
ABP contributes £5.6 billion to the UK economy every year and supports 84,000 jobs. Our current investment programme promises to deliver an extra £1.75 billion for the economy every year.
ABP…
• Handles over 1.5 million vehicles every year
• Generates around one quarter of the UK’s rail freight
• Has 1.4 million square metres of covered storage
• Has 1,000 hectares of open storage
• Handles around 90m tonnes of cargo each year
• Owns 5,000 hectares of port estate
• Has 87km of quay
Our five year investment programme is worth £1 billion. Our investment is designed to respond to the needs of our customers whose business relies on our ports for access to international and, in some cases, domestic markets.
Kindly supplied by Multimodal
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