Port Everglades container volumes up 9.6%

Port Everglades container volumes up 9.6%    Port Everglades said it handled 136,658 TEUs in October and November, the first two months of the fiscal year, 9.6 percent more than in the same months last year.
   While lower than the number containers handled two years ago when Port Everglades container traffic reached an all-time high, Director Phil Allen said, “we are cautiously optimistic that this is a preliminary sign that international trade is rebounding.”
   Port officials point to a new service from the Far East as partly responsible for the increase. CSAV began its new AMEX service in June 2010, which includes a rotation of 10 3,500-TEU vessels making weekly calls to Port Everglades from Asia, through the Panama Canal, to the U.S. East Coast and the Caribbean.
   The port pointed to several capital improvements to foster growth in containerized cargo volumes. These include:
   ' A 41-acre containerized cargo terminal nearing completion of which more than half will be used as a new handling facility for SeaFreight.
   ' Purchasing a new mobile harbor crane capable of handling containers and heavy lifts up to 100 tons.
   ' Expanding the Port’s Turning Notch by 1,500 feet to allow for four additional berths and deepening the channel to 50 feet.
   ' Awarding a recent Florida Department of Transportation contract to construct the Eller Drive Overpass project.
   ' Planning for rail connection to a near-dock intermodal container transfer facility.