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Peel Ports is planning new automated terminals in Liverpool and London Medway, and the development of a new automated rail facility in the Midlands

The UK’s second largest port operator is to invest £100m into the steels and metals sector in a move to enhance capacity and boost the efficiency of logistics.

It is progressing with a £32m scheme, to add a further 140,000 sq ft of storage at its Port of Liverpool steel and metals terminals.

Overall across the Ports of Liverpool and London Medway, warehousing will be increased by 50% cfrom the current 1 million sq ft to create an additional 500,000 sq ft of capacity.

Further plans include creating a second automated terminal in Liverpool dedicated to steel coils, as well as a new automated terminal for the Port of London Medway in Sheerness.

These will be developed to include rail connectivity by a new inland rail terminal in the Midlands.

This follows a record year for steel imports at the Liverpool facility and should help further grow the volumes of steel it transports across the UK.

David Huck, chief operating officer at Peel Ports Group, said: “This is a game-changing investment for us. Demand for steel and metals handling across our port group, and the UK in general, has risen sharply over the past five years and this will allow us to expand our support to the construction and manufacturing supply chain right across the country.

“This investment ensures we have the scale, speed, and specialist expertise to support our customers today and long into the future, helping to also address some of the storage and transportation issues the steel sector currently faces.

“With expanded capacity and a growing, dedicated steel handling team, we can now move more product, more efficiently than ever before. Our location in Liverpool is in the heart of Britain and gives us a clear advantage – perfectly placed to serve stockholders and fabricators nationwide, supported by excellent road and rail links.

“Warehousing will remain a key focus for the business, with further expansion already in the pipeline as we continue to futureproof our service for the UK’s critical industries.”

“The addition of a new rail terminal in the Midlands will allows us to efficiently connect the two strategically located deep-water ports of Liverpool and London Medway, boosting the efficiency of logistics for our customers and partners.”

The business is already working with customers to bring steel cargoes closer to major centres of demand across its seven statutory harbour authority ports and 24 terminals.

This is the second time in less than two years that it has extended its Port of Liverpool steel and metals terminal, and will involve the creation of two newly dedicated warehouses at its Seaforth Dock to handle these products. It now has more than 610,000 sq ft of storage for metals, and this expansion means it will be able to store an additional 35,000 tonnes.

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