See the berth go in before the tender is written.
Terminal Expansion Watch checks your target terminals from high-resolution imagery every quarter, flags new quay works, berth extensions and yard paving, and gives each one a rough window for when crane and straddle-carrier orders are likely to follow.
How you hear about a terminal expansion now
A sales team can easily learn about an expansion the same way its competitors do. A press release from the port authority, a line in the trade press, a remark at a conference, or the tender itself arriving in the inbox. By then the capital project is approved, the quay contractor is on site and the equipment specification is being drafted.
The annual pipeline forecast is built on that. The director sits down before budget with a list of accounts and asks each regional manager which terminals are expanding. The answers depend on who spoke to whom last. A terminal that has been laying new apron for months can sit on the list as a rumour, while another earns a line because it announced a masterplan years ago and nothing has moved since.
Quay cranes above a rock-armoured edge. Stock photo by Romina BM / Pexels, shown as scenery.
Meanwhile the works are there to be seen. A longer quay edge and a fresh block of paved yard are no secret, they just aren't anyone's job to look at. Terminal Expansion Watch makes it someone's job every quarter and tells your account team which terminals have started building, so the first call can come while the specification may still be open.
What early access covers
Expansion-watch alert
Per terminal, dated
When a quarterly pass shows new quay works, a berth extension or yard paving at a terminal on your list, you get an alert for that terminal. It carries the date of the pass where the works first showed and what was seen. It arrives after each pass, so your account manager has a reason to call that quarter.
Demand forecast window
Rough window
Each alert comes with a forecast window: our estimate of when crane or straddle-carrier procurement is likely to follow, read from how works of that kind usually progress. It is a window, never a tender date. It names the category of equipment, and does not name a model or a count.
Terminal watchlist
All terminals, one view
Every terminal you asked us to watch, with where it stands: nothing new, works flagged, or not imaged this quarter. Use it to see which accounts have moved since the last forecast review.
How it works
Terminal list in
Send the terminals you want watched, by port and terminal name. Tell us how far ahead of tender you usually need to be in the room.
Imagery
We task a high-resolution satellite pass over each terminal every quarter, at 0.5 to 2 m.
Analysis
New quay works, berth extensions and yard paving are picked out and compared with how build-outs of that kind typically run, to put a window on when equipment buying is likely to follow.
Delivery
An alert and a forecast window for each terminal where works were flagged, and the updated watchlist for all of them.
Where it fits in your workflow
Before the tender is drafted
Use it as an early input to the pipeline forecast. A terminal with flagged works and a forecast window moves from "rumoured" to a dated line in the account plan, and the account manager has something concrete to raise with the operator. It sits beside what your team already knows from the field and from the trade press. The press release still arrives; the quay works may already have shown in an earlier pass.
It does not tell you who will win, what the operator has budgeted or what the specification will say. Your account team still does that work.
Works on a quay wall, seen from the water. Stock photo by Jan van der Wolf / Pexels, shown as scenery.
Limits
Quarterly, not continuous
One pass per terminal per quarter. Works that start and finish between passes, or a change made last week, will show at the next pass. It is no substitute for port surveillance.
A window, not a date
The forecast window is a rough estimate from build-out patterns. Operators delay, re-phase and cancel. Treat it as a reason to call, never as a confirmed tender or procurement date.
Screened or covered works
Works behind screening, under cover or inside a building may not be visible until they are well advanced. Expect late flags on those.
Resolution
At 0.5 to 2 m we can see quay edges, paved areas and earthworks. We cannot read equipment models, count cranes by type or see anything inside a stack.
Coverage depends on tasking
Whether a given terminal gets a clear pass every quarter depends on high-resolution imagery being available over it. Cloud can push a pass later. We won't promise coverage of a named terminal before checking.
Early access
The offer is not yet a packaged product. Early access means working with a small group of sales teams to shape what the alert and the forecast window should say.
Who it's for
For
- Sales directors and commercial leads at port equipment manufacturers who build the annual crane and straddle-carrier pipeline forecast
- Regional and key account managers who want a dated reason to contact a terminal operator before the tender
Not for
- Terminal operators watching their own site
- Live vessel, cargo or gate activity
- Tender tracking or contract award data
- A guaranteed lead or a confirmed order
Questions before early access
Is the forecast window a procurement date?
No. It is a rough lead-time estimate from the pattern of the build-out. Use it to decide when to call, not to book an order.
What if the works are screened or covered?
They may not be visible from above until later in construction, so the flag can come late. We say so in the alert when a terminal's view is limited.
How current is quarterly?
As current as the last pass. Alerts follow each quarterly pass and nothing arrives in between.
Does it tell us which equipment is being bought?
No. It flags expansion activity and puts a window on likely crane or straddle-carrier demand as a general category. It does not give a model, a count or a specification.
Does it cover every port?
It depends on high-resolution imagery being available at the terminal. Send your list and we will tell you which terminals we can watch.
How do we check it against what we already know?
Put a few terminals on the list where you already know an expansion is under way, without telling us the status. Compare what the alerts flag and when against your own records, then decide whether the signal is early enough to use.
Will it load into our CRM or forecast?
The alert and the watchlist come as files your team can open and paste from. We don't write into your CRM.
Who owns the imagery and the results?
Ownership and licence terms for the alerts and the underlying imagery are written into the early-access agreement before anything is ordered. Ask for them early if your legal team needs to review.
How is early access priced?
The cost depends on how many terminals you want watched and what imagery they need. We scope it with you once we have your list.
Put your target terminals on the list.
Tell us which terminals you want watched and how far ahead of tender you like to be in the room. We will say plainly whether the imagery can support it.
Request early access