International Container Terminal Services Inc. emerged as the eighth largest wholly-independent global terminal operator with a portfolio that spans all six continents, an independent maritime research and consulting firm said Thursday.
Drewry said in its Global Container Terminal Operators Annual Review and Forecast for 2021-2022 that ICTSI ranked 8th among GTOs as it handled a total of 10.1 million twenty-foot equivalent units in 2020.
GTOs handled 66 percent of the global port volumes in 2020. ICTSI’s consolidated throughput in 2021 increased 10 percent to 11.1 million TEUs amid the reopening of markets and improvements in trade.
The report also ranks the company as the largest wholly-independent port operator with a presence across six continents.
ICTSI operates 33 terminals in 20 countries, mostly in emerging markets, standing with Hutchison Ports and DP World as the most geographically diverse among GTOs. ICTSI is also considered a Philippine economic transnational, moving knowhow, investments, goods, people and technology across borders.
ICTSI’s continuing expansion is anchored on its core strategy of acquisitions and greenfield developments of small- to medium-sized terminals through government partnerships while maintaining majority ownership across its global operations.
Drewry cites ICTSI and German logistics giant Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG for having the highest equity level across their portfolios.
ICTSI continued to expand its operations with the addition of two new multipurpose terminals in Nigeria and Cameroon despite the slowdown of global trade in the past two years.
The company also expanded its operation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil by adding rail logistics to its services through the long-term lease of an intermodal terminal in Barra Mansa.
ICTSI allocated $250 million in capital expenditure for 2021 to bankroll new developments in its flagship Manila International Container Terminal, Matadi Gateway Terminal in D.R. Congo and Victoria International Container Terminal in Australia.