Port Everglades reports cargo upswing

Port Everglades reports cargo upswing    Port Everglades said it handled 674,675 TEUs in the nine-month period ending June 30, 12.1 percent more than in the same period a year earlier.
   Container volume has been up three quarters in a row, which Port Everglades Director Phil Allen said “makes us more confident that South Florida’s economy is rebounding. Nearly all container cargo lines that call on the port have contributed to this growth.”
   Port Everglades is moving forward with several capital improvements to foster growth in containerized cargo. The port’s major expansion projects include adding cargo berths, widening and deepening the waterways to 50 feet, and bringing freight rail into the Port.
   The Florida Department of Transportation broke ground in July for construction of the Eller Drive Overpass project, which will allow trains carrying international and domestic cargo to enter the port at ground level to connect to a near-dock Intermodal Container Transfer Facility expected to be completed in late 2013.
   The port recently completed construction of a 41-acre containerized cargo terminal, most of which has been leased to SeaFreight Agencies (USA) Inc. and Crowley Liner Services Inc.
   Port Everglades also purchased a new mobile harbor crane able to load containers and handle heavy lifts of up to 100 tons from ship to shore.