Our Terminal

The terminal in Elizabeth, NJ, is APM Terminals' largest terminal on the east coast of North America and offers the largest reefer capacity in the port of New York and New Jersey. The terminals' super post-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes are capable of handling the largest container vessels on the water today, up to 23 containers wide on-deck.

The terminal handles over 2,500+ unique trucks and over 5,200 terminal gate transactions per day. A state-of-the-art gate automated complex employs a truck appointment system to reduce queues and keep turn times to a minimum. Appointments can be made and tracked via customers own transport management systems using the terminals secure API data feed to connect directly with the Terminal Operating System. In 2023, Truck turn times averaged just 50 minutes for all moves and detention times for import containers are down 75% as customers take delivery of import cargo faster.

Gate and yard technology features optical character recognition, radio frequency identification, global positioning systems, closed circuit television and weigh-in-motion scales for maximum efficiency. 

Lean methodologies through our "Way of Working" have been adopted across the terminal by all employees to map and standardize processes and use this to identify efficiency improvements. For shipping lines for example, combined with new equipment this led to a 20% year-over-year reduction in vessel port stay in 2023, providing best-in-class network stability

Road Connectivity

APM Terminals Elizabeth is conveniently located less than one mile off exit 13A of the New Jersey Turnpike, as well as Routes 1 & 9 for points north and south, and less than two miles from Interstate 78 for points west.

On-dock rail

Being the first port of call for the majority of U.S. East Coast-bound ocean carriers is a huge benefit and value for customers because we have the ability to move a container off a vessel to major inland markets in the Midwest and Canada, even before the vessel even leaves our terminal.

Using a direct-to-rail landing zone section on the terminal during vessel discharge operations, APM Terminals Elizabeth is able to expedite rail cargo to its near dock rail facility 12 hours (avg.) after discharge.

Once cargo arrives at the Millennium Marine Rail-operated terminal (an APM Terminals joint venture),  port Labor and APM Terminals teams work on the 18 track rail operation building doublestack trains for fast handoff to three Class I railroads (CSX, NS, CN) that take it to inland markets 2-4 days away. On the return trip, trains carrying U.S. exports call the terminal for loading on vessels, ensuring a smooth roundtrip railcar flow.

Key rail features

• 12 hour dwell time for import rail cargo on terminal combined with four outbound train departures daily is designed to alleviate supply chain strain with fast inland movement.
• Abundant space at Millennium Marine Rail facility and rail car capacity able to grow further.  
• Offers alternative gateway options for supply chain planners. 

Despite the pandemic, locomotive and railcar availability has been steady and reliable. The terminals also works closely with The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to ensure train performance and rail infrastructure in the port is supportive of growth. The Port of New York and New Jersey has the largest rail lift capacity of any U.S. East Coast port.