CIT funds leading US container terminal expansion

CIT Bank has provided $23.5 million funding via a credit facility from CIT Capital Equipment Finance to GCT Global Container Terminals Inc. (GCT) for the final stage of equipping its industry-leading container terminals in the Port of New York and New Jersey.

GCT is using the funding to purchase two new Liebherr P203L (WS) post-Panamax ship-to-shore gantry cranes to be used at its container handling terminal in Bayonne, New Jersey.

This represents the second transaction between CIT and GCT. In 2014, CIT provided financing that supported the acquisition of 17 new Terex shuttle trucks now in operation at the newly expanded GCT Bayonne facility.

Chris Davies, GCT’s chief financial officer, said: “This financing supports the build-out of our award-winning state-of-the-art terminal, GCT Bayonne. The expansion not only increased our terminal footprint from 100 to 167 acres, but our innovative redesign enabled us to increase safety, improve reliability and decrease processing times, ensuring we have the highest productivity within the harbor. Our history with CIT made them the perfect choice for this financing, and we look forward to our continued partnership in the future.”

Burt Feinberg, president of CIT Corporate Finance, commercial & industrial, said: “Our expertise in the large-ticket equipment financing market and understanding of shipping and the related terminal industry dynamics allowed us to develop a flexible structure to secure this mission-critical equipment to support GCT’s continued growth and modernization in connection with their presence in this strategically significant US east coast port.”