Virginia box volumes up 4.6% in April

Container throughput at Port of Virginia terminals has increased 7 percent so far in the fiscal year that will end on June 30, according to recent figures from the Virginia Port Authority.    Port of Virginia terminals handled 225,196 TEUs of containerized cargo in April 2017, 4.6 percent more than in the same month a year ago, according to recent figures from the Virginia Ports Authority.
   The throughput numbers come just a few days after the 13,092-TEU COSCO Development, the largest ship to transit the newly-expanded Panama Canal and call the U.S. East Coast, called the Virginia International Gateway terminal in Portsmouth on May 8.
   “Our volumes remain steady and we are on track to surpass the number of TEUs we handled in fiscal year 2016; through April we are up nearly 7 percent” said John F. Reinhart, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority. The agency’s fiscal year ends on June 30.
   ““The new alliance networks went live April 1, and Virginia is the top East Coast port for deployed capacity for Asia-U.S. East Coast alliance services. The big ships are coming to Virginia and bringing corresponding amounts of cargo — and we are on the edge of peak season. Those realities coupled with our expansion projects, are resulting in a very active spring at The Port of Virginia,” he added.
   The port authority said loaded export containers were up 4 percent and loaded import containers up 9.4 percent from April 2016.