Port of New York/New Jersey handles record volumes

The port benefited in March from shippers avoiding congestion at West Coast ports.    The Port of New York and New Jersey handled an all-time record amount of container cargo in March.
   For the month, the port handled a total of 559,264 TEUs, 5 percent more than the previous high of 531,302 TEUs set in October 2014. The March 2015 volumes represented a 14.6 percent increase over March 2014.
   The port attributed the increased volume primarily to container cargo that was rerouted to avoid congestion at West Coast ports. In addition to fuller ships that regularly call New York and New Jersey, the port handled cargo arriving on “extra loaders” or “sweeper ships” – those not belonging to a specific liner service.
   ExpressRail, the Port Authority’s on-dock rail system, also set a new one-month record, handling 46,148 containers. The ExpressRail volumes surpassed the previous best month of July 2014, when 43,027 containers were handled.
   “We’re pleased that our port continues to achieve new milestones this year, but we’re equally aware that this record cargo growth has led to challenges on how we handle the increased volume,” said Port Authority Port Commerce Director Richard Larrabee. “We continue to work collaboratively every day with all of our stakeholders, including terminal operators, trucking companies, chassis providers and public safety, to address the issues we face. And we are confident that if we continue to work as a team, we’ll be able to put into place long and short term solutions that will benefit all of our port partners.”
   Efforts at the port to improve operations are discussed in the May issue of American Shipper in a story titled “NY/NJ port’s future view.”