by Lloyd's List

JUST over a year after facing the very real threat of closure, Portland’s container terminal has secured a new operator in Harbor Industrial.

Terminal 6, the port’s only box terminal, announced its closure after recording losses of more than $30m over the last three years.

Volumes at the terminal plummeted from 2017 following a labour-dispute with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and fell to zero in 2018.

The situation improved during the pandemic, as Portland presented an alternative to congested west coast ports.

State funding ringfenced by governor Tina Kotek offered a stay of execution for the terminal, but a new operator still needed to be found.

But now, the port confirmed that a deal had been reached with former stevedore Habor Industrial to operate the port.

Kotek said “scores of businesses throughout Oregon rely on Terminal 6 to ship their goods” and said communities would be “better off” as a result of the deal being secured.

Legislators approved $20m of funding recommended by Kotek to make improvements at the port, with Harbor Industrial set to takeover operations at the end of the year.

Harbor Industrial chief operating officer Tim McCarthy said with the agreement now in place, “we are in a stronger position to provide regional shippers with the stability they need to grow their businesses, which in turn will drive economic growth and strengthen the local economy”.