Friday, February 6, 2015

Port of NY-NJ Sets Annual Volume Record

By Mark Edward Nero

The Port of New York and New Jersey, home to the busiest container port on the East Coast, set a new record for annual cargo volume in 2014, surpassing the previous record set in 2012, according to newly-released data.

During the year, the port handled 3.34 million cargo containers, an increase of 5.4 percent over the previous year and 4.1 percent more than in 2012, when the previous annual record was established.

By comparison, Puget Sound’s two biggest ports, in Seattle and Tacoma, moved a combined total of 3.4 million TEUs in 2014. The nation’s two busiest ports, in Los Angeles and nearby Long Beach, moved 8.3 million and 6.8 million TEUs, respectively, last year.

The record volumes for NY-NJ last year allowed the port to maintain its position as the busiest on the East Coast with nearly 30 percent of the total market share.

“Our port is continuing to reap the benefits of an uptick in the economy, which has resulted in the hiring of more dockworkers and economic growth for the region,” Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye said. “We plan to continue our investments in the port in the coming years.”

During 2014, China remained the top import country serving the port, with 923,975 import containers. Following China were Germany (179,715 import containers) and India (176,621 import containers).

In 2014, there were 2,432 vessel calls in the port, down 2.3 percent from the 2,488 vessel calls in 2013. The fewer vessel calls illustrate that much of the cargo coming into the port is arriving in larger ships, a trend the port says it expects will continue.