Issue link: https://jocdigital.uberflip.com/i/348056
INTERNATIONAL MARITIME IMPORTING | EXPORTING | PORTS | CARRIERS | BREAKBULK | GLOBAL LOGISTICS 38 THE JOURNAL OF COMMERCE www.joc.com JULY 21.2014 By Bill Mongelluzzo JON SLANGERUP SEES his greatest strength as being a builder of added value, not as a turnaround artist. That's one of the rea- sons the former CEO of FedEx Canada is excited about taking over as executive director at the Port of Long Beach, where he intends to continue capital expansion projects, assess where additional expan- sion is required and add value for port customers. After building FedEx Canada from a small regional parcel carrier into the coun- try's largest international express company, Slangerup left the FedEx subsidiary in 2000 and dove into the world of start-up companies, mostly in the technology and alternative fuel sectors. He enjoyed building the companies at breakneck speed, adding value and pre- paring them for acquisition, but with each venture he knew he was really looking for his next FedEx. He may have found it at the United States' second-largest container port, where he was confirmed as executive direc- tor on June 30. Slangerup admits he's excited about the port's $4 billion, 10-year capital expan- sion program, designed to keep Long Beach ahead of the curve in the new world of big ships and big carrier alliances. "It's all about growing," he said in an interview in his Long Beach office. Growth shouldn't be the port's only goal, however. "If we don't improve performance for our customers, it will be a collective waste of time," Slangerup said. In that respect, Long Beach is giving Slangerup a running start. The latest Port Productivity report from JOC Group lists Long Beach as the most productive port in the U.S., and second in the Americas to Balboa, Panama, in terms of productivity in working vessels at berth. Long Beach, like other major gateways in North America, is struggling to handle vessels capable of handling 8,000 20-foot containers or more. These mega-ships gen- erate as many as 5,000 container moves per vessel call. This huge volume of cargo generated in a condensed period of time is creating problems for terminal operators, LONG BEACH'S NEW MAN AT THE HELM Former FedEx Canada CEO Jon Slangerup vows to improve services and mend port-city relationships