Port NOLA sets container throughput record

The Port of New Orleans handled 537,285 TEUs in the past year through September 2015, surpassing the half million-TEU mark for the first time in any 12-month period, CEO Gary LaGrange said at the 29th Annual State of the Port Address.    The Port of New Orleans handled 537,285 TEUs in the past 12 months ending September 2015, a 13.6 percent increase over the same period a year ago and a record for any 12-month period at the port.
   The port attributed those figures to container volumes in the Central American trade lane more than doubling through September, driven by banana imports and exports of paper and chemical products.
   “It’s another milestone that comes on the heels of four record years in a row,” Port NOLA President and CEO Gary LaGrange said at the 29th Annual State of the Port Address today hosted by the International Freight Forwarders and Customs House Brokers Association of New Orleans. “We anticipate continued growth in our container market, along with a robust breakbulk and project cargo market, as we recently set 14-year highs in tonnage moved over Port docks.”
   In addition, the port has increased its throughput of breakbulk cargo 15 percent through May 2015 (the latest month for which breakbulk cargo data is currently available), led by an 18.7 percent increase in imported steel.
   “While we expect some softening in the imported steel market this fall, we anticipate the investment boom in the chemical and petrochemical industry on the Lower Mississippi River will spur continued growth for the future,” said LaGrange.
   Port NOLA said chemical and petrochemical companies have announced more than $81 billion in investments in new facilities and expansion projects in Louisiana, and some analysts predict chemical exports from the state could triple as these projects are completed in the coming years.
   The port also noted an historic milestone of 1 million passengers passing through its cruise terminals in the 2014 calendar year and that the NOLA’s industrial real estate portfolio is also producing strong results.
   “In the years since the closure of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, we have worked to reimage that property into an international logistics hub with firms adding value to cargo right here in New Orleans,” said LaGrange. “Today, we have 42 leases covering about 500 acres and generating $6 million in annual revenue – nearly double the revenue from when the MR-GO was open to deep-draft shipping.”
   The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has invested more than $14 billion in the New Orleans area on surge barriers and armored levees, making Port NOLA’s property along the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal the only surge protected waterfront property on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, added LaGrange.
   “Interest in those properties remains strong and we anticipate more growth to come,” he said.
   The port noted it is now investing in what it calls “smart growth,” with a focus on environmentally sustainable initiatives.
   “The Port’s environmental services department successfully implemented an environmental program, resulting in the Port of New Orleans becoming only the 8th U.S. port to earn Green Port certification from Green Marine,” it said. “The voluntary environmental certification program is a rigorous and transparent initiative that addresses key environmental issues in the maritime industry.”
   “As we continue to grow, we want to do so in an environmentally friendly way and serve as a leader in green initiatives within our jurisdiction and beyond,” said LaGrange.