DOT issues 15-year container port report

DOT issues 15-year container port report    The U.S. share of global containerized traffic fell by nearly half, from 16 percent to 9 percent, between 1995 and 2009, according to a report released last week by the Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
   America’s Container Ports: Linking Markets at Home and Abroad examines how container shipping to and from the United States has evolved over the last 15 years, including sections on short- and long-term trends affecting U.S. port volume.
   The report also found that cargo volumes and vessel calls are more concentrated at a few leading ports than they were in 1995 'because of increased use of larger, faster and more specialized vessels. In 2009, the top 10 U.S. container ports accounted for 85 percent of containerized imports and exports (measured in TEUs), up from 78 percent in 1995.'
   While West Coast ports accounted for more than half of all containerized merchandise coming in to the United States, the percentage (51 percent) dropped from 56 percent in 2006 as trade flows have shifted.
   The report also details vessel calls, capacity changes, the United States' top trading partners, and world's biggest container ports. Special sections highlight challenges in landside access to ports and maritime security.