The Port of New York and New Jersey exceeded its previous record for annual cargo volumes in 2015 by more than 10 percent, the Port Authority revealed Feb. 8.
The port handled 6.37 million TEUs last year, an increase of 10.4 percent over 2014, when the previous annual record was established.
NY/NJ was busiest on the East Coast last year with nearly 30 percent of the total market share. It was also the third-busiest port in the US in 2015, after the Port of Los Angeles (eight million TEUs) and Port of Long Beach (seven million TEUs).
NY/NJ said its 2015 increase in port activity was fueled by an 8.4 percent jump in import loaded containers, going from 2.94 million imported TEUs in 2014 to 3.21 million TEUs in 2015.
According to data, China was the port’s the top import country last year, with 1.01 million import TEUs, followed by India with 196,956 import TEUs and Germany with 189,622 import TEUs. The top import commodities are furniture, apparel and clothing, and machinery parts.
There were reported 2,251 vessel calls at NY/NJ in 2015, down 7.4 percent from 2014. The port attributes the fewer vessel calls to much of the cargo arriving on larger ships.
ExpressRail, the Port Authority’s ship-to-rail system serving New York and New Jersey marine terminals, also set a new record in 2015, handling 522,244 containers, an increase of 12.2 percent over 2014, the previous best year for rail activity.
The port also reported a 21.5 percent increase in vehicles handled in the port last year – from 392,704 vehicles handled in 2014 to 477,170 handled in 2015.
