Mercator International provides advisory services to a diverse group of stakeholders operating in industries across the freight transportation spectrum – from private equity investors looking for appropriate infrastructure assets to carriers, port authorities, terminal operators, industrial real estate developers, and beneficial cargo owners. With decades of experience and a deep portfolio of industry contacts, Mercator International is positioned to help clients navigate uncertainty and achieve their goals all while managing risk.
Financial Institutions
Considering an acquisition or disposition of transportation-related assets, or perhaps a strategic investment initiative with current portfolio assets? Mercator International has advised and/or executed dozens of buy-side and sell-side due diligence engagements for transactions with accumulated enterprise value in the US$ billions. Mercator International can assess value, opportunity, and risk from commercial, operational, and technical perspectives.
Mercator International’s partners and senior associates have an average of more than 30-years of experience in the international freight transportation and logistics sector. Additionally, members of Mercator’s consulting team have worked in investment banking as in-house experts supporting the evaluation, acquisition, and management of operations in a variety of transportation-related assets located worldwide.
In addition to having proprietary models and databases, Mercator International’s extensive list of industry contacts gives access to information that can’t be gleaned from economic or other data. Mercator’s tools and experience allow their consultants to not only conduct all facets of buy-side and sell-side due diligence, but to identify operational and marketing opportunities that provide additional asset value.
You won’t find a more highly qualified team to provide the type of in-depth, decisive analysis required to make profitable investments and balance risk.
Related Projects
Dry Bulk Terminals Due Diligence
Conducted commercial and operational due diligence on bulk terminals in NA, SA, and Europe for a global infrastructure investor.
Container Terminals Due Diligence
Analyzed the markets, infrastructure, volumes/revenues, and operations of a terminal operator’s portfolio for a global infrastructure fund.
Port Authorities
In need of a new strategy for a terminal or for the port? Looking to re-purpose an existing site? Evaluating a possible new development or investment? Mercator International works with port authorities to develop strategic plans, terminal concession strategies, and consolidation strategies, in addition to conducting operational and financial returns analyses.
Mercator International works with port authorities to identify opportunities associated with an ever-evolving logistics landscape. Equally important, Mercator’s consultants provide critical insights to how global, regional, and local forces threaten to move volumes to alternative gateways.
Mercator International has extensive experience in carrier network planning, and can help port authorities anticipate how the competitive forces impacting ocean carriers will disrupt the competitive positions of coastal regions and ports. Mercator’s consultants marry deep knowledge of tradelane volumes by commodity with proprietary databases and models to forecast future demand for port facilities. On the land side, Mercator’s insights into rail and road cost structures further contribute to a well-rounded perspective regarding opportunities and threats.
Related Projects
Mercator Provides Advisory Services to the Québec Port Authority for the Development of Project Laurentia with Hutchison Ports and CN Rail
On May 28, 2019, the Québec Port Authority (QPA) announced ...
Long-Term Forecast for Southern California Port Authority
Mercator International prepared long-term forecasts for container and non-container traffic through ports for a SOCAL port authority.
Terminal Operators
Terminal operators must bring the right people, processes, systems, infrastructure, and equipment together to compete in a dynamic industry. They must also negotiate with both landlords and customers. Consultants at Mercator International have worked in and managed marine terminals, and their collective experiences and analytical capabilities position them to help terminal operators strategically navigate complex situations and develop tactical initiatives. If as a terminal operator, you need additional analytical horsepower and fresh perspective, no other firm is better situated to provide support than Mercator International.
Insights regarding the competitive positions and strategies of railroads, port authorities, shipping lines, labor unions, equipment leasing companies, and financial institutions are critical to identifying goals and plotting the most efficient path to success. The diverse professional experiences and backgrounds of Mercator International’s consulting team allow them to glean information from data and communicate actionable intelligence to terminal operators. Mercator International can also help terminal operators gain valuable insight into the perspectives of customers, competitors, and service partners.
Related Projects
Sell-Side Due Diligence for Multi-Purpose Global Terminal Operator
Mercator was engaged by an operator of a portfolio of container and multi-purpose terminals in Europe, the Mediterranean, and South America to provide support for its efforts to raise capital.
Assess Traffic Prospects for Brazilian Terminal
A world’s leading terminal operator engaged Mercator International to assess future container traffic prospects for a new terminal in Brazil.
Litigation & Arbitration
Mercator International’s extensive knowledge, experience, and capabilities span the spectrum of maritime freight activities. Our analytical capabilities make Mercator International a trusted and sought-after provider of expert testimony in support of transportation sector clients in need of thoughtful, thorough, and defensible analysis and opinion.
Effective dispute resolution requires an experienced team that can grasp the key issues, identify and analyze the relevant facts and present results and opinions clearly and effectively. The Mercator team understands the need for its clients, especially in an adversarial proceeding, to have the benefit of insightful analysis of the very highest quality, and delivers that on a consistent basis.
Related Projects
Expert Testimony on Latin America Concession
Prepared reports and provided expert testimony for proceeding at the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes.
Expert Testimony on Africa Concession
Mercator International prepared a report and expert testimony for a London Court of International Arbitration dispute proceeding.
Ocean Carriers
In the context of an industry that is in great flux as economies of scale motivate vessel upsizing and alliance restructuring, carriers must evaluate not only their own deployment strategies, but understand the deployment strategies of competitors as well. Mercator International has decades of experience assessing trade flows and employs proprietary databases and models to assess the cost and service differentials of alternative vessel deployment strategies. Additionally, Mercator incorporates into competitive analysis, a deep knowledge of inland transport costs by mode.
Mercator International has a suite of proprietary databases and models that produce relevant information for carriers. Of particular importance to ocean carriers, Mercator maintains a real-time carrier network database, tradelane volume by port and direction database, an inland commodity flow database that provides detailed insight into last-mile flows, and a sophisticated bunker cost model.
Related Projects
Most BCOs are paying too much in bunker surcharges, and for some, the problem is about to get much worse
IMO 2020[i] sulfur regulations are about to force an unprecedented ...
Vessel Deployment and Vessel Design Strategy for Container/Ro-Ro Carrier
Provided a niche container / ro-ro vessel operator with analysis to assess future ship construction priorities.
Rail & Motor Companies
Domestic freight volumes will grow exponentially in the years to come, but this growth will not be experienced evenly across geographies, modes, and equipment types. Do you have all the information you need to make sound decisions regarding growth and investment strategies? Do you know everything you need to know about alternative modes and demand? Mercator works across all modes in the value chain and can help answer these important questions.
Positioning your company to handle future market needs is critical. Mercator International provides forecasts of imports and exports and through which port gateways these volumes will flow. Mercator has the knowledge and experience to help rail and motor companies develop strategies that will position them for success as the logistics landscape continues to evolve.
Related Projects
Most BCOs are paying too much in bunker surcharges, and for some, the problem is about to get much worse
IMO 2020[i] sulfur regulations are about to force an unprecedented ...
Railroad Cargo Flow Identification
Mercator International was engaged by a major Canadian Class-1 railroad to assist in formulating marketing/pricing strategies to capture U.S. traffic.
Real Estate Investors
Evaluating a potential investment or disposition of industrial real estate or infrastructure asset that is leveraged to international and/or domestic trade? Mercator International has the tools and knowledge required to assess the competitive position of such assets in the context of an ever-changing transportation value chain. In support of these types of transactions, Mercator International has developed proprietary trade flow and transportation cost models that inform such real estate strategies.
The logistics landscape has evolved significantly, and the domestic transportation industry has seen the emergence of mega-DCs and fulfillment centers at a time when intermodal has become heavily favored over long-distance trucking. At the same time, port disruptions on both coasts have caused importers to reduce risk by diversifying supply chains. These forces have created a tremendous opportunity for industrial real estate developers, and capitalizing on these developments requires insights that Mercator International can provide.
Related Projects
Competitive Positioning Analysis
A major real estate investor/developer evaluated the acquisition of a network of warehouses for resin products in the U.S. Gulf coast region.
Warehousing/DC Demand Analysis
A property development company retained Mercator International to identify logistics complex locations with the most favorable demand and supply conditions.
Importers & Exporters
Do you have the most competitive rate and service packages from your service providers? Is your cargo routed in the most efficient manner to reduce inventory costs while still meeting customer demands? With international and domestic carriers constantly changing their prices and service offerings, are you covered in the event of equipment and capacity shortages? Mercator International has the data, tools, and knowledge to help you answer these questions.
The diverse backgrounds and experiences of Mercator International’s team allows us to share with you not only the perspectives of your customers, but of your competitors and service partners as well. Unique insights regarding the strategies of railroads, port authorities, terminal operators, shipping lines, labor, equipment leasing companies and financial institutions can enhance your profitability. Mercator International can provide the data and strategic insight you’ll need to effectively manage your capital investments and customer relations. Mercator International will help you develop a strategy to optimize the relationships with your transportation partners.
Related Projects
US trade talks with China
As the US continues to negotiate more favorable terms of ...
Ocean Freight Risk Analysis and Carrier Negotiations
Mercator assisted a beneficial cargo owner in developing rate strategies to mitigate the risk of future ocean carrier disruptions to its supply chain.
Public Agencies
Public agencies must find ways to increase service levels, and must do so with limited funding under an uncertain political context. Is it feasible to move forward with infrastructure improvements? Does privatization make sense? What will be the economic impact? How will a new policy impact public and environmental issues? Mercator International provides the type of systematic and exhaustive analyses that public agencies need to make these important decisions.
In an environment where budgets are tight and public funding is scarce, combined with an industry requiring investment to upgrade infrastructure, public agencies around the World are exploring options to open infrastructure financing to private sector sources. Additionally, public agencies are evaluating innovative ways to improve the environmental footprint of the transport industry by supporting initiatives to reduce congestion and carbon emissions. Mercator International has worked with public agencies across a multitude of continents to assist them in exploring and executing on initiatives such as these.
Related Projects
Long-Term Import/Export Forecast
Mercator International was retained by the Australian State of Victoria’s Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF) to produce a long-term forecasts.
Alternative Coastwise Liner Services
Mercator International worked with teams of consulting firms to design and analyze alternative coastwise liner services in U.S. East Coast ports.
Business Owners in the Shipping and Logistics Sector
Mercator International provides the full range of services to independent business owners in the shipping and logistics sector who are looking to sell their assets.
Mercator International works closely with business owners who are looking to monetize their assets, and can manage the entire sales process – from valuing the assets, to preparing information memorandums describing the opportunity, to identifying potential buyers, and managing the sales negotiations.
Related Projects
Niche Container Shipping Line Sale
Mercator International assisted the ownership group of a niche container shipping line with the successful sale of the business to another shipping line.
Caribbean Marine Terminal Forecast & Sale
An independent Caribbean marine terminal operator retained Mercator International to assist with the analysis and sale of his company.