The market for ‘standard’ 4×2 yard tractors has long been divided between European and North American designs. With its huge number of distribution centres and logistics facilities the US market is the single largest in the world. Kalmar Ottawa and Capacity of Texas have leveraged this position to build machines on a scale that has made them competitive in export markets outside Europe.

There is a shakeup underway, however. The dominance of Kalmar and Capacity in North America has come under increasing competition from Tico, which has grown market share  considerably. It has recently picked up orders from SSA Mexico (SSAM) for its flagship MIT terminal in Panama, and recently delivered 30 tractors to SSAM’s new Tuxpan facility in  the state of Veracruz.

Terberg is making a push into the Americas, and last year opened a regional office in Miami, which is headed by Frank Wouters as MD of global port equipment for the region. VP at Terberg Tractors America, Ron van Arkel, said Terberg has not ruled out production in North America, but, with the significant appreciation of the US dollar recently, the case for  making this level of investment is not as compelling as it once was. Terberg is currently focusing its efforts on getting to know the market and building up its dealer network.

Like entering any new market, Terberg has to look for pockets of opportunity, and the ro-ro market in particular is promising. Some ro-ro terminals, including Pasha Hawaii, have  long used Terberg 4×4 machines, and this relationship continues. Pasha Hawaii recently took delivery of four RT283 4×4 units and 5 TT223 4×2 machines.

Other terminals, Van Arkel noted, are using 4×2 machines on ro-ro ramps, sometimes with an improvised counterweight on the front. Now that Terberg is better able to support US  customers from Miami, it is making a concerted push to identify potential ro-ro customers, and educate them on the benefits of a 4×4 roro machine with a rotating operator console. Actually, it has found that, some terminals are actually using old Terberg 4×4 machines purchased on the second-hand market, added Van Arkel.

Terberg is also moving into South America, where one of the largest single markets is in Panama. Terberg will be represented there by Global Port Equipment Americas (part of  Forkliftcenter). Elsewhere in the region, Terberg has recently taken an order for five YT182 tractors for Palermo in Barranquilla, Colombia, a new market for the company.

Terberg’s push into North America comes at a time when the two major players, Kalmar and Capacity, have introduced new flagship machines, the T2 and Sabre, respectively. Both  manufacturers are now part way through changing their lines to produce the new models, and are currently producing both their old and new designs.

New model roll outs can be a difficult time for dealers, in particular, as lead times typically creep up around the change-over period, creating opportunities for competitors that can  offer shorter lead times. Capacity plans to have fully converted production to the Sabre by mid-2016. The first unit was delivered earlier this year to Southeast Industrial Equipment in Charlotte, North Carolina. In May and June, Capacity delivered an additional 65 units.

In the export market, the first Sabre’s have gone to customers in New Zealand, in forest product handling applications, and to a container terminal in Colombia. Both these markets  can accept the much cheaper Tier 3 engines.

Mafi on the up

While Terberg is looking to the Americas, Mafi is growing in the Middle East and SE Asia. The company reports a strong order book this year, right across its tractor range. Orders  were received from customers in Africa and Northern Europe, but the bigger contracts were placed by customers in SE Asia and the Middle East. Despite the pessimistic economic  outlook in some key markets, sales manager Harald Lutz said he expects 2015 to finish strongly, and there are several promising projects in the pipeline.

Mafi is having success with its T 230 model, which can pull a GCW of up to 200t. Lutz said this is driven by terminals looking to support “more efficient container handling”,  including twin lifts and tandem spreaders. For Stage IV emissions requirements, the T 230 uses a Volvo TAD 571VE, producing 129 kW or the 160 kW TAD 572VE, both of which use  optimised SCR technology.

Mafi’s biggest tractor, the HD 445, which is operating in heavy duty industries such as steel mills, has been equipped with the latest engine, the Volvo TAD 1172 with 285 kW in  exhaust emission Stage IV. Mafi’s ro-ro tractor, the R 332/336, can be fitted with Volvo or Mercedes engines with various outputs, depending on the customer’s requirements.

Going electric

The development of electric options for terminal tractors continues, despite the high cost of these systems. In Europe, Noatum Container Terminal Valencia has taken delivery of an  electric terminal tractor from Terberg, as part of the Sea Terminals project of the European Union, which is being coordinated by the Valencia port Foundation.

As previously reported, the tractor is powered by lithium-ion (ferro phosphate) batteries, and emits no carbon or greenhouse gases at a local level. Trials began in mid-September  and will last until the end of November. The E-tractor trials follow earlier Valencia port trials at Noatum, under the same EU programme, which compared performance and fuel consumption of a Terberg terminal tractor fitted with a Euro V (road truck standard) engine and a terminal tractor running on LNG fuel.

This time around, Noatum is also trialling new Stage IV Hyster reach stackers and ECH mast trucks equipped with eco-mode for reduced fuel consumption. Performance will be  monitored in real time by Noatum’s SEAMS platform, which will also be able to identify potential bottlenecks in the terminal.

E-tractors from Terberg and MOL derive from a Balqon licence, but the overall driveline is based on their own terminal tractor knowhow and experience. They are still too expensive  to be cost-effective in port terminals, but there is a clear niche for them in the DC market, where low noise and the absence of emissions allow household name shippers and  retailers to show their green credentials. The low noise levels can also facilitate night time operations in urban areas, provided the tractor is homologated for road use (cf BEHALA  Berlin – WorldCargo News, August 2014, p1).

In North America, there are mixed messages on electric machines, with none of the top three manufacturers actively marketing a design. There are several machines in testing,  however. 

In 2011 the ports of Los Angeles (POLA) and Long Beach decided that zero-emissions technologies for handling equipment were something they needed to pursue through  feasibility studies, collaborative projects and co-funded developments. The ports took the lead in getting zero emissions equipment into ports, with a particular focus on drayage trucks, shore power and terminal tractors.

By July 2015, the Los Angeles Harbor Department had funded and tested 14 drayage trucks and yard tractors (since 2008), but just four of the drayage trucks and two of the  tractors were still in service. “In general, these projects have been able to demonstrate that the basic technology concept works, even though the early models tended to  experience power inverter, battery and battery management issues, including eight units being returned to the vehicle or equipment developer for further development,” the department stated in a report. 

Testing, testing

Balqon machines have been tested on several occasions. During 2011, two units with its third-generation battery system were tested for three months by Cal Cartage. They  achieved a range of 12 hours on one charge, but not consistently. A one-day demonstration confirmed a range of over 150 miles on a single charge. One further unit was tested in  port and rail yards for one month in 2012, and was then returned to Balqon for further development.

In total, eight tractors have been tested for 1,000 hours, and two units are in field demonstration today. This is some way short of the approximately 1,700 hours/ year a typical  port machine operates, and POLA recognises longer-term evaluations are needed before the technology can be regarded as proven. Future tests plan for between one and two years  of operational experience with 16 additional units (both road trucks and tractors).

The two tractors still in testing were supplied by California’s TransPower, and funded through a CARB air quality improvement program that will test the machines over two years  (2014-2016). As of May, one machine was at SA Recycling, while the other was at a Dole facility in San Diego, but will be moved to Eagle Marine when charging stations there are complete. Another six Balqon units with a new battery management system (BMS) are expected to begin testing this year – three with APM Terminals and three with Evergreen.

TransPower began working with tractors in 2012, when it tested electric drive components in a Kalmar machine, independently of Kalmar. Its first two prototypes began operational  tests in July 2013 at a DC in San Antonio, Texas, operated by grocery chain giant H-E-B. These were equipped with extra-large battery packs and were able to operate continuously for up to 13 hours. The tests identified areas where TransPower needed to make improvements, and it subsequently developed a second-generation drive system.

TransPower’s electric drive is called ElecTruck, and consists of a main drive motor from JJE of China, and an Eaton six-speed manual transmission, configured to work with  TransPower’s proprietary “Automated manual Transmission” technology. This is a system that commands Eaton’s “X-Y shifter” mechanism, based on the speed of the motor and other operating conditions.

Accessory power for the fifth wheel and power steering hydraulics, an air compressor for braking and cabin systems are provided by a small accessory inverter  supplied by Lenze of  Germany, specially developed for heavy-duty automotive applications. The whole drive system is installed in a Kalmar tractor without any cutting or welding required.

The battery system consists of two vertical battery tiers mounted on each side of the tractor. The lower tier has 32 x 400 ampere-hour lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) cells,  manufactured by China Aviation Lithium Batteries (CALB), one of the world’s largest battery manufacturers. The upper tier has 28 cells, giving 120 cells in total generating 150 kWh  of total energy storage, of which TransPower says 70-90% is useable, depending on the application. 

TransPower has developed its “Cell Saver” BMS in collaboration with EPC Power Corp. Battery life depends on the discharge cycle; discharging 80% and more of their power, the  batteries are expected to last for 2,000-3,000 discharge cycles, but reducing the discharge figure to 70% increases battery life to as many as 5,000 cycles.

These figures are based on battery manufacturers’ data that has to be validated in operations, but the company said that “batteries in a typical tractor experiencing one full  discharge cycle per day can be expected to last 10 years or more, if properly maintained and balanced”. 

TransPower currently has five machines in service, the two units mentioned above and a very similar machine at an IKEA DC in California, plus two older three-axle machines  specified for on-road use at an H-E-B DC in Texas.

The IKEA machine has now been in service for over a year and has clocked up over 13,000 miles. It operates five days a week over two shifts, receiving a charge during the lunch  break. IKEA is soon to get two further units for additional testing, and is negotiating with PowerPlus to purchase the first machine. Joshua Goldman, TransPower’s VP business  development, said the company has moved beyond the prototype stage, and the latest machines are “demonstration” units.

TransPower will continue to develop the design further and expects to be able to use a smaller chassis. The current machines are on a 132-inch wheel base, which is longer than the  116-inch that is standard for a DC machine. But TransPower believes it can address this, and design a step into the battery pack itself for cab access stairs, while at the same  time reducing weight.

Cost, however, remains a sticking point. POLA noted that a port tractor would require between 125 and 250 kWh of installed power for an eight-hour work period. “At a current price  of between US$700 and US$800 per kWh of fully integrated battery capacity, the battery cost to achieve 200 kWh would be between US$140,000 and US$160,000,” it stated. Even if battery prices drop to the forecast US$400 per kWh of fully integrated power, the battery pack alone would still cost nearly as much as a current diesel yard tractor.”

At the moment, said Goldman, a TransPower machine costs around US$200,000 more than a standard tractor, but it has to be remembered that the company is buying complete  Kalmar machines and removing the engine. While he expects the price of battery packs to come down, the industry also needs to find new ways of financing electric vehicles. 

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This complete item is approximately 2200 words in length, and appeared in the October 2015 issue of WorldCargo News, on page 48. To access this issue download the PDF here.