The original item was published from November 17, 2015 2:35 PM to November 17, 2015 2:41 PM
On Friday, November 13, Port of Palm Beach received 11,022,000 pounds of steel rebar via the maritime vessel Ni Hat-M. The rebar, imported from Turkey, was unloaded onto port property to be separated and redistributed to Commercial Steel Services LLC of Miami, Florida. This shipment marks the first time in over eight years rebar has been imported to the Port of Palm Beach. It also marks the first time the port has hosted both the raw and final product of steel rebar production. Stonerock Shipping, operating at the Port of Palm Beach since 2014, facilitates the export of processed steel scrap to Turkish steel mills that recycle the scrap into new rebar. The product that was imported into the Port of Palm Beach was shipped from the same mill Stonerock exports to.
The agency handling the rebar import, Teeters Agency & Stevedoring, has handled container and general cargo vessels at the Port of Palm Beach since 1983.
Owned and operated by The Teeters Family, the firm uses patented equipment Engineered by William Teeters to transfer and store steel. The machinery offers faster and cleaner movements than competitive companies, with a minimum-to-none damage rate.
The steel will be stored dockside, where it can easily be reloaded to ship, rail and truck for distribution. This location and its ease of access to intermodal transfer systems also has a financial benefit to customers by reducing drayage.
“It is great to see a commodity such as steel rebar re-enter the Port of Palm Beach,” explains executive director Manuel Almira. “Not only does it show the regrowth of a market here at the port, but also the regeneration of the construction industry as a whole. Where rebar goes, cement and lumber follow.”
Stonerock Shipping executive Stuart Kroll added to the positive news: I am proud that my company and the Port of Palm Beach are participating in the export and import of these clean, environmentally friendly and valuable products.