Commentary Trading Places

By Peter Tirschwell

If Maher is sold to a carrier, several large carriers would end up customers of other carriers.

As Maher Terminals, the largest terminal at the Port of New York and New Jersey, is being prepped for sale with active discussions under way with potential buyers, a possible unfavorable outcome for the port is for all major terminals ending up owned by ocean carriers.

The 450-acre Maher facility in New Jersey, at approximately one-third of container capacity and market share within the port, is the last remaining non-carrier-owned terminal following the 2023 acquisition by CMA CGM of previously neutral Global Container Terminals facilities at Bayonne and Howland Hook, other than a small facility in Brooklyn under control of the NYC Economic Development Corp.

If Maher were to be sold to a carrier by its owner, Macquarie Asset Management, the result could be several large carriers who don’ t own terminals at the port ending up as customers of other carriers.

Those carriers and their customers would thus be left at a perpetual disadvantage in terms of berth windows and cargo handling when serving New York-New Jersey. That would make the port less attractive for such carriers versus competitive ports for inland cargo such as Virginia that are operated on a neutral basis.

“ Maher Terminals has combined an exceptional leadership team with expansive capital investment to create a leading neutral stevedoring operation on the East Coast,” said Ken O’ Brien, CEO of Gemini Shippers Group.“ It is hard to envision how a purchase by one of the liner companies would lead to improved service levels.”

The other major terminals partly or fully carrier-owned are APM Terminals, a unit of AP Moller-Maersk; and Port Newark Container Terminal, or PNCT, which is 50 % owned by Terminal Investment Limited( TiL), the terminal operating business of Mediterranean Shipping Co.

Different outcomes are possible. If Maher were sold to MSC, the world’ s largest carrier and an aggressive acquirer of terminal space in the US and globally, it would likely force MSC to sell its PNCT stake due to antitrust concerns over market dominance at the East Coast’ s largest port, according to a knowledgeable source. MSC is one of the parties that have expressed interest in Maher, according to a February report from the Wall Street Journal.

Such a scenario could leave PNCT in the hands of neutral owners, giving the port a common-user facility.“ It is important to the port’ s competitiveness to retain a common-user facility,” a source said.

The issue of carrier terminal control is front and center with the impending sale of Maher given that carriers overall have become aggressive acquirers and developers of terminal capacity globally, including on the US East Coast.

For example, if Maher were to fall into the hands of Hapag-Lloyd or Ocean Network Express( ONE), both top 10 carriers that are expanding their terminal portfolios, it could leave the port as essentially a closed shop where non-terminal operating carriers are deprioritized, making the port less competitive overall.

The reason is that while carrier-owned terminals often claim to be neutral, in reality they are not.

“ Third-party terminal revenue is a big deal for the terminal guys, but ultimately decisions pay homage to the mothership and ultimately preference is given to the carrier.”

The implications for non-terminal-owning carriers that— depending on who the buyer is— it could impact alliances and port calls on the US East Coast, said a port expert who asked to remain anonymous.

Maher is the premier terminal property in the heart of the world’ s second-largest metropolitan region by GDP, as well as a dominant player within a strategically located port that over several years has held its own among competitors.

It has been widely reported that Maher will be put up for sale in the coming months by Macquarie and JP Morgan has been named as the sell-side advisor. The bank is incentivized to achieve a price possibly as lofty as $ 6 billion, said the knowledgeable source.

Macquarie in December renewed Maher’ s lease with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey through 2063, agreeing to terms that include responsibility for upkeep of wharves and berths and a commitment to increase capacity in line with demand. The lease renewal was seen as a critical step in Macquarie’ s ability to put the terminal up for sale as it removes uncertainty as to what a buyer is committing to.

The knowledgeable source said the terminal, which was acquired by Macquarie from Deutsche Bank in 2016, will attract interest from potential buyers including carrier-owned terminal operators, independent operators such as DP World, PSA or Carrix, as well as Macquarie could not be reached for comment. A spokesperson for the Port of New York and New Jersey would only say,“ We are unable to comment on possible sales or negotiations.”

email: peter. tirschwell @ spglobal. com

70 Journal of Commerce | June 1, 2026 www. joc. com