Port Manatee sets new annual volume record in just 10 months

During the 10-month period from Oct. 1, 2016, through July 31, 2017, Port Manatee, located on the Florida Gulf Coast, handled 32,907 TEUs, significantly more than its previous full-year high mark.    Port Manatee, the closest U.S. deepwater seaport to the Panama Canal, still has two months to go in its current fiscal year, but has already set a new record for annual container volumes.
   During the 10-month period from Oct. 1, 2016, through July 31, 2017, Port Manatee, located in the eastern Gulf of Mexico in northern Manatee County, Florida, handled 32,907 TEUs, significantly more than its previous full-year record of 30,431 TEUs, which was set during the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2010.
   Container traffic in the current fiscal year’s first 10 months represents a 47 percent increase compared with the first 10 months of the preceding fiscal year, according to port data. During FY 2016 on the whole, Port Manatee posted a throughput of 26,210 TEUs.
   Port officials attribute the big increase in part to the ongoing transition to containers from breakbulk shipping by longtime tenant Del Monte Fresh Produce for its imports of Central American pineapples and bananas. Another contributing factor cited was the continuing success of World Direct Shipping’s weekly service, which has brought refrigerated produce from Mexico since November 2014.
   “We are excited to have already set a new container record for Port Manatee and are further encouraged that this favorable trend is anticipated to be sustained for a long time,” Port Manatee Executive Director Carlos Buqueras said, alluding to how within the past year, the port has extended its agreements with both Del Monte and World Direct Shipping.
   In addition to containers, Port Manatee’s overall tonnage, including bulk and general cargos is also up substantially.
   For the 10-month period that ended July 31, the port had a total throughput of 6.4 million tons, up 17 percent from the same period a year earlier and putting the port on pace to eclipse its FY 2016 total of 6,888,757 tons.
   “The dynamic rise in Port Manatee’s cargo activity is striking in and of itself and is further impressive because it translates into growing numbers of family-wage jobs and other positive economic impacts for our community,” Manatee County Port Authority Chair Vanessa Baugh said.