APM Terminals Aarhus takes action to keep cargo moving despite continued supply chain disruptions

During the past three years the logistics industry have faced many challenges due to Covid-19 and several other external factors causing disruption in supply chains. Managing Director Dennis Lenthe Olesen shares how APM Terminals Aarhus works consistently to maintain smooth operations and secure continued cargo flows.

Since the start of the global Covid-19 pandemic, ports worldwide have been challenged by disrupted supply chains and lower schedule reliability. Dennis Lenthe Olesen, MD at APM Terminals Nordic shares:

”For a long time, we have seen a wide variation in when ships arrive to the terminal. Until recently, only about 30 percent of the vessels arrive within proforma window, a figure that is usually around 70-80 percent”.

“This impacts our operations and the customer experience as we constantly need to replan and be agile and flexible to the largest extent possible to service our customer’s business”, he continues.

Inflation affects consumer behavior and cargo flows

On top of supply chain interruption factors such as Covid-19, congestion in the Suez Canal and invasion of Ukraine, we are now facing a high inflation. Increased energy and food prices driving a change in consumer behaviors where consumers spend less on non-food items. These changed patterns, lead to full warehouses, as import containers stay longer at the warehouses, without getting unstuffed. Dwell time at the terminal increases as well, causing high utilization, which has a negative impact on service levels and operations.

”We have taken action to keep the cargo moving and to keep container handling as smooth and efficient as possible during this challenging period. For example, we moved import containers to our terminal in Kalundborg to optimize flows, and when possible, we have extended gate opening hours to give our customers more opportunities to get service”, Olesen says and continues:

”We expect volumes through APM Terminals Aarhus to remain relatively high throughout the year and we expect that the global supply chains will, to some extent, normalize, which means that schedule reliability and thus our service levels should improve”.

New MD for APM Terminals Nordic appointed

Since APM Terminals Nordics was created in January 2020 by combining APM Terminals Aarhus and Gothenburg into one organization, it has been run by Dennis Lenthe Olesen. In three years, the organization has grown in size and has successfully integrated ALC Terminal in Aarhus and launched a new container terminal in Kalundborg.

”I want to thank you for the collaboration and support during the past years and I am happy to announce that Mikael Gutman will be taking over from me 1st of November. I have been in the Nordics for three years now, and we have set up very ambitious plans that will continue to support our customer’s business going forward”, Olesen concludes.