Port of Virginia cargo volumes up 7.5% in July

Terminals at the Port of Virginia handled 234,230 TEUs last month, a 7.5 percent increased compared with the same month a year ago, despite a 2 percent dip in exports.    The Port of Virginia just had the best July cargo performance in its history.
   Terminals at the mid-Atlantic port handled 234,230 TEUs last month, a 7.5 percent increase compared to July 2016, despite a decrease in exports, according to data released Aug. 9.
   Loaded export TEUs during the month amounted to 75,703 units, down 2 percent year-over-year, but the decline was offset by a 9 percent jump in loaded imports to 109,215 TEUs and a 13 percent year-over-year increase in truck containers to 85,442 TEUs.
   Additionally, statistics show that total barge container volumes rose to 4,064 TEUs last month, a 7 percent increase; and its Richmond Marine Terminal facility’s barge containers rose 5 percent to 1,772 TEUs. The Virginia Inland Port facility’s container traffic rose 3 percent to 2,754 TEUs.
   For the calendar year, the POV said its total TEU volumes are up 8.1 percent from the same 2016 period, while containers up 8.5 percent. Rail traffic is up 5.6 percent, while truck containers are up 9 percent, and barge traffic up 30 percent.
   “The peak season is underway, we are seeing the large vessels with regularity and handling their corresponding cargo volumes safely and efficiently,” John F. Reinhart, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority (VPA). “The North Gate at NIT (Norfolk International Terminals) is fully-functional and motor carriers are utilizing that asset more and more, which will be important as we near the start of work this fall on renovating the south-side stack yard at NIT.
   “While our volumes are growing, there is sustained momentum at The Port of Virginia that is driving us forward,” he added. “We have approval from the (VPA) Board of Commissioners to sign the purchase contract for four new ship-to-shore cranes – the largest on the U.S. East Coast – for Virginia International Gateway. We are beginning to see development of warehouse and distribution space, as evidenced by Panattoni’s recent announcement of a 500,000-square-foot speculative building near Richmond Marine Terminal and we are continuing to identify new double-stack rail opportunities into the Lehigh Valley and western Pennsylvania.”