Port of Miami container volumes drop

Port of Miami container volumes drop Fiscal-year-end data for the Port of Miami shows the port had a 7.4 percent drop in container volumes, falling below the 1 million TEU level for the first time since 2002.
   For the fiscal year ended September 30, Miami handled 976,514 TEUs, down from 1.05 million TEUs in FY 2005. Miami's cargo tonnage was off 8.6 percent, from 9.4 million tons to 8.6 million tons. The port's cargo business is dominated by containers, although its carrier customers do move some roll-on/roll-off cargo.
   The number of cargo ships docked at the port also decreased, from 2,002 to 1,852.
   Although Miami did attract some new business from the Asia trades, some Asia services as well as some Latin America services shifted over to nearby Port Everglades during the year.
   In addition to the decisions by carriers to shift some or all of their services'including decisions to drop South Florida calls altogether in some cases'local shippers and freight forwarders have complained about both port access problems for trucks and increased cargo release delays caused by Customs and Border Protection inspections.
   Miami's container volumes have remained around 1 million TEUs since the port first reached that level in fiscal 2003. The port had a slight decrease in container volumes in fiscal 2004, but remained above 1 million TEUs. Miami's container volumes were up 4.5 percent in fiscal 2005.
   Although cargo business was off, Miami saw a 3.5 percent increase in cruise passengers, and total revenues for the port increased 3.6 percent to $88 million.