State Ports Authority workers set new productivity record

State Ports Authority crane operators and local dockworkers set a new productivity record last year, averaging nearly 37 container lifts per crane per hour, the SPA said last week.

One measure of port productivity is the time it takes to load and unload containers from a ship, which requires a coordinated effort between SPA crane operators, stevedores and dockworkers from the International Longshoremen’s Association.

Many ports barely do 20 lifts per hour, and industry experts consider 30 to be excellent. But SPA crane operators and longshoremen averaged 36.5 lifts through the entire year. That was up a few notches from 33.6 lifts in 2000.

Shipping line officials recently told ports authority officials that the SPA’s lift rate is the fastest in the world, even outpacing Hong Kong, long known in industry circles as having the world’s speediest terminal workers.