Port of Virginia records 7% annual growth in FY2017

The Port of Virginia’s fiscal year 2017, which ran from July 1 through June 30, included cargo increases in several categories, including a 7.3 percent rise in TEUs.

   The Port of Virginia completed its fiscal year 2017 having handled a record-setting 2.7 million TEUs, plus set a record last month by handling 231,675 TEUs in June, a 7 percent increase when compared with the same month last year, according to port data.
   “We finished fiscal year 2017 with a solid volume increase and thus marked our fourth consecutive fiscal year of volume growth,” Virginia Port Authority CEO and Executive Director John F. Reinhart said. “We grew in the right areas, we moved a record-amount of volume across all modes of transportation, train, barge and truck – and did so safely — and we continue to improve our service levels.”
   The mid-Atlantic port’s fiscal 2017, which ran from July 1 through June 30, saw cargo throughput increase in several categories, including a 7.3 percent rise in containerized cargo to 2.76 million TEUs; a 7.2 percent jump in total containers to 1.56 million; 568,894 total rail containers, an increase of 11.3 percent; and 950,311 total truck containers, a year-over-year rise of 4.6 percent.
   Additionally, according to port data, the POV experienced a 37.6 percent rise in barge containers at its Richmond Marine Terminal and a 12.8 percent increase in total barge containers to 46,594.
   For the month of June alone, the port handled 231,675 TEUs, a jump of 6.9 percent compared to the same month during the previous fiscal year; a 7.1 percent rise in total containers to 132,764; 48,173 total rail containers, a 6.8 percent increase; 80,909 total truck containers, up 6.9 percent; 1,724 Richmond Marine Terminal barge containers, up 45.9 percent; and 3,682 total barge containers last month, up 16.4 percent compared to the same month in FY2016.
   “The Port of Virginia team and its labor partners accomplished a lot in fiscal year 2017. We became the leading rail port on the U.S. East Coast; we announced several significant initiatives; we moved record amounts of cargo; we embarked on the biggest expansion – investment — this port has ever seen and we were the first port to host the COSCO Development, which was biggest ship to ever call the U.S. East Coast,” Reinhart said. “We will not let up, there is still much work to be done and we are up to the task.”
   The port’s container growth comes as the POV is in the process of expanding capacity at its two primary container terminals: Norfolk International Terminals (NIT) and Virginia International Gateway (VIG). The port is investing $320 million to double container capacity at VIG and $350 million to renovate the south container yard at NIT. In June, the port opened its new 26-lane North Gate at NIT, a $42 million investment that increase efficiency and capacity for trucks picking up and dropping off containers at its docks.
   “Our expansion projects are underway and will result in sweeping improvements across all areas of operation, allowing for sustainable growth for decades to come,” Reinhart said. “Looking forward, we will push to continue building momentum and preparing ourselves for the even bigger ships of tomorrow.”