Port of New York/New Jersey container volumes up 13.4% in first half 2015

“We’re reaping the benefits of a strong regional economy and labor uncertainty on the West Coast,” New York and New Jersey Port Director Richard Larrabee said of the results.    The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey handled 3,093,789 TEUs in the first six months of the year, 13.4 percent more than the 2,727,554 TEUs that moved through the port in January-June 2014. In June, the port handled 562,573 TEUs, 19.6 percent more than in June 2014, according to port data.
   “We’re reaping the benefits of a strong regional economy and labor uncertainty on the West Coast,” said Port Commerce Director Richard Larrabee. “Our challenge now is to find ways to more efficiently handle the record volumes we have seen all year, and we’ve been working collaboratively will all port stakeholders to meet this goal.”
   In the six months ending June 30, 2015, the port’s marine terminals handled 2,274,943 TEUs of loaded containers, an 8.4 percent increase from last year, and 818,846 TEUs of empties, a 30.1 percent increase when compared to the first six months of 2014.
   Cargo handled by ExpressRail, the port authority’s ship-to-rail system serving New York and New Jersey marine terminals, also continued to increase as a percentage of total port cargo compared to trucks. During the first six months of 2015, ExpressRail handled 257,103 containers, up 15 percent from the previous record year of 2014, when 223,374 containers were handled.
   The agency has invested more than $600 million to build ExpressRail on-dock rail terminals. Currently there are ExpressRail terminals in Newark and Elizabeth, N.J. and on Staten Island. It also plans to build a new ExpressRail facility in Greenville Yard in Jersey City near Global Container Terminal’s facility in Bayonne.
   The port says the use of on-dock rail improves port efficiency and competitiveness, and reduces emissions.
   Larrabee announced his retirement earlier this year and his last day is September 1. His successor is Molly Campbell, former deputy executive director at the Port of Los Angeles, who began working at the agency this week.
   Larrabee “is retiring on a high note with cargo volumes at record levels thanks to strategic initiatives he led including the 50-foot channel project, investments in our port’s environmentally friendly rail network, upgraded port roads, and our award-winning Clean Air port strategy,” said Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye. “He leaves the Port of New York and New Jersey with a strong outlook for continued growth in jobs and economic activity as the pre-eminent East Coast port, and our project to raise the Bayonne Bridge underway. This week we welcome Molly Campbell as our new port director who I am confident will build on Rick’s accomplishments in the years to come.”
   Larrabee said the port is “continuing our aggressive environmental initiatives to ensure that more cargo does not result in more pollution for those who work or live around our port facilities.”
   “Between 2006 and 2013, the port’s Clean Air Strategy helped contribute to a 33 percent reduction in tons per year of all pollutants, even while our cargo volumes grew by 7 percent during that period,” the port added. 
   In addition to cargo containers, the port also reported a 31 percent increase in vehicles handled by auto processors serving the port – from 172,375 units handled in the first half of 2014 to 226,053 units this year. It attributed the increase, in part, to a program that provides a financial incentive to auto manufacturers who bring new or increased vehicle business to the port.
   To continue the port’s ability to handle increasing cargo volumes, a group of port stakeholders – the Council on Port Performance – has been planning and implementing a series of recommendation made by a Task Force last year.
   One fruit of that group’s work was today’s release of a Truckers’ Resource Guidebook that contains important information on how to navigate through the port’s six terminals, including important phone numbers, a list of Do’s and Don’ts, Frequently Asked Questions, terminal maps and how to help ensure a successful visit to a terminal.