2008: Confidential Client. Acquisition of break-bulk terminal operating company. Seaport Consultants Canada provided commercial due diligence for an investment bank that was investigating the acquisition of a company that specialized in the operation of several break-bulk terminals in one of the largest ports in the U.S. Seaport investigated the company’s market and reviewed its operations.

2008: TBA Inc. for Riverport Railroad L.L.C., Illinois, Review of Chicago area container market. Seaport Consultants Canada conducted a review of the intermodal container market in the Chicago area for TBA Inc. who in turn was advising Riverport Railroad L.L.C., a short-line railroad operator and property developer in the Chicago area. The work included:

• Overview of world and North American container traffic.

• Factors affecting North American growth patterns, such as the Panama Canal expansion and the development by major importers of large distribution centers.

• Forecasts of North American container traffic growth.

• Flows of interior-point intermodal containers and the roles of ports, railroads and inland intermodal centers in them.

• Review of intermodal facilities in the Chicago area and the intermodal industrial parks under development.

• Potential markets for Riverport.

2007: Confidential Client. Grains to port via rail analysis. Seaport Consultants Inc. researched and modeled rail rates for grains and grain-derived agricultural products moving from the US Midwest to US Pacific and Gulf of Mexico ports on several corridors using a variety of rail equipment types. All aspects of services and transit times, including in-port handling and unloading processes at US ports, were considered. The study was used to determine optimal rail equipment types and numbers for a new set of export services.

2007: Babcock & Brown. Evaluation of acquisition of port terminal operating company. Seaport Consultants Canada served as commercial advisors in an evaluation of the acquisition of a break-bulk port terminal operating company. Services provided by Seaport included:

• Provision of general commercial due diligence.

• Review of market for company and break-bulk trades in which it engaged.

• Review of port operations.

• Discussions of company operations and prospects with owners.

Babcock & Brown, United States and Canada. Evaluation of acquisition of Maher Terminals. Seaport Consultants Canada served as commercial advisor and port consultant.

APM Terminals,  United States. Design, planning, and process mapping for automated terminal, Portsmouth, Virginia. Seaport Innovations guided and supervised the project team in designing the operations processes and procedures, in design simulations, and in the process mapping in connection with the design of the first automated terminal in the USA. The aim was to achieve a cost efficient operation, and have a precise description of the requirements to the processes and system integration.

Potato Growers of Idaho, Idaho. Agricultural transport study. Seaport Consultants Inc. investigated ways to improve domestic and international transportation options for Idaho fresh and processed potato growers and shippers and for associated onion growers in eastern Oregon. The work included analysis of current Union Pacific and Eastern Idaho Railroad services and rates, truck traffic, and possible intermodal services using various inland gateways. It also included investigation of export shipping alternatives.

Confidential Client, Oakland, California. Rail intermodal terminal pre-feasibility analysis. The project involved a preliminary assessment of the operational and financial feasibility of a large rail terminal designed to handle container traffic at the Port of Oakland. Seaport Consultants Inc. formulated a demand forecast, given competition form other US West Coast container ports, and evaluated design concepts produced by the Port of Oakland and judged their operational and economic effectiveness. Seaport also suggested alternative concept designs and operational structures, and developed a set of preliminary operating cost assessments and pro-forma financial statements. The client was contemplating financial participation in the project.