Port of New York-New Jersey posts 8% container increase

Port of New York-New Jersey posts 8% container increase    The Port of New York and New Jersey said its container volume increased 8.5 percent to 4.07 million TEUs in 2003. The value of total cargo in the port rose nearly 12 percent.
   Loaded container volumes in 2003 totaled 2.82 million TEUs, a 7.9 percent increase over the 2.61 million TEUs handled in 2002.
   The port’s total general cargo volumes rose 8.8 percent to 23.54 million metric tons in 2003, compared to 21.63 million metric tons in 2002.
   General cargo imports in 2003 increased 8.6 percent to 16.93 million metric tons. General cargo exports rose 9.4 percent to 6.61 million metric tons.
   Total bulk cargo rose 13.3 percent to 54.83 million metric tons in 2003. Bulk imports increased 17.2 percent to 51.95 million metric tons. Bulk exports declined 28.1 percent to 2.97 million metric tons.
   For the first time in the port's history, the total value of all cargo handled in one year surpassed the $100 billion mark – $100.36 billion in 2003, an 11.7 percent increase over 2002’s total cargo value of $89.8 billion.
   New York-New Jersey continued to handle more vehicles than any other U.S. port. In 2003, auto imports increased 5 percent to 582,915 units. Auto exports totaled 42,883 units in 2003, a 14 percent increase.
   China continued to be New York-New Jersey’s largest trading partner in 2003, accounting for 18.6 percent of the port’s activity. In addition, for the first time, Asia has become the port’s largest origin and destination for containerized cargo, with a 41 percent share of the region’s market.
   Italy, Germany, India and Brazil were the port’s ranking trading partners after China. It was Brazil’s first appearance in the top five partners.