Five year, global agreement to work toward improved productivity and efficiency, land utilization, environmental sensitivity and public awareness of the container terminal industry APM Terminals and the Port of Rotterdam Authority announce the signing of a five-year agreement of cooperation on research and development for innovation in global container terminal operations. Research projects will be undertaken worldwide under the auspices of the agreement, and will focus on container terminal environmental best practices, sustainability, safety, cargo security, cost reduction, intermodal movements, supply chain integration, and information management. The agreement covers global port projects; five projects per year at the current APM Terminals Rotterdam facility, which surpassed a 2.6 million TEU annual volume in 2007 and the future APM Terminals Maasvlakte II facility, construction for which is scheduled to begin shortly. The facility will launch a new generation of eco-friendly ports while serving as the company’s flagship terminal for innovation and environment sustainability.