Metal recycler signs lease with Florida port

Port Canaveral Scrap Terminal LLC (PCST), a bulk ferrous scrap exporter headquartered in Orlando, Florida, has signed a lease with Florida’s Canaveral Port Authority to operate a terminal in the north cargo area at Port Canaveral, Florida.

According to the port, the agreement is for at least one year and calls for PCST to load a minimum of 100,000 tons of ferrous scrap annually. Vessel calls are anticipated at eight per year with an average of 35,000 tons per call. The company says it hopes to begin the loading process by November 2014.

While the port says the lease will cover 4 acres, a spokesman for PCST says it will have access to roughly 6 acres. The terminal location will only be used for loading ferrous scrap in bulk vessels. “We won’t be doing any processing at the site,” the company source says.

Local stevedoring firm Ambassador Services Inc. (ASI) will handle the loading operations.

“This company helps us with diversification of our cargo mix,” says Port Canaveral CEO John Walsh. “More importantly, it helps our planet since recycling scrap metal reduces greenhouse gas emissions and uses less energy than making metal from virgin ore.”

PCST says it chose the Port of Canaveral because it is a midsized port that should allow the company to service scrap dealers and peddlers from throughout the area. At the same time, the company recognizes the location may help in regard to competition with several of the larger scrap metal firms operating in Florida, including Trademark Metals and Sims Metal Management.