N.Y.-N.J. PORT AUTHORITY STARTS REGIONAL CONTAINER BARGE SERVICE

N.Y.-N.J. PORT AUTHORITY STARTS REGIONAL CONTAINER BARGE SERVICE    The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has started a new barge service for regional container transport.
   The Port Inland Distribution Network will begin by offering container barge service between the marine terminals and the Port of Albany, N.Y.
   “This new network will further entice international shippers to call on the Port of New York and New Jersey,” said Port Authority Vice Chairman Charles A. Gargano. “It will provide their goods with a quick, cost-efficient conduit to the Port of Albany and other inland locations.”
   The network will be a new service for containerized cargo, such as furniture, clothing and beverages that is now transported by truck.
   The regional ports will contract with private barge operators, which will charge shippers for the service.
   “One of the primary goals of the cargo distribution network is to reduce the heavy reliance of port customers on trucks to move cargo,” the port authority said. “Currently, about 84 percent of the containers that come in to or go out of the port are transported by truck.”
   “When all of the ports are on line by 2020, the percentage of maritime containers moved by truck could be reduced to 57 percent,” the port authority added. “By then, more than 1,000 truck trips a day on New York roadways would be eliminated due to the Port Inland Distribution Network.”
   In September, the port authority board approved up to $6 million to help with start-up costs for the Port Inland Distribution Network.
   In addition to Albany, the port authority is in negotiations with port operators in Davisville, R.I.; Bridgeport and New Haven, Conn.; Camden and Salem, N.J.; and Wilmington, Del.