CIT provides financing for post-Panamax gantry cranes

FEBRUARY 17, 2015 — Post-Panamax ships are going to need post-Panamax cranes and CIT Group Inc. (NYSE:CIT), a leading provider of commercial lending and leasing services, is helping terminal operators get them. Today it announced that CIT Capital Equipment Finance has provided a $23.5 million credit facility to GCT Global Container Terminals Inc. (GCT) to purchase two new Liebherr P203L (WS) post-Panamax ship-to-shore gantry cranes that will be used at its semi-automated container terminal in Bayonne, NJ.

Financing was provided by CIT Bank, the U.S. commercial bank subsidiary of CIT.

Located in the largest port on the North American East Coast, GCT provides container handling services for its customers in one of the most concentrated consumer markets in the world. The company operates two key container terminal facilities in the Port of New York and New Jersey: GCT Bayonne in Bayonne, New Jersey and GCT New York in Staten Island, New York.

This is 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, Chief Financial Officer, GCT Global Container Terminals Inc., 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, “We’re pleased to be able to support GCT’s acquisition of these gantry cranes, a key component to efficient terminal operations. 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 U.S. East Coast port.”