PORT OF NEW YORK-NEW JERSEY TRAFFIC UP 13.5%

PORT OF NEW YORK-NEW JERSEY TRAFFIC UP 13.5%    An increase of trade with Asia has helped push overall general cargoes up by 13.5 percent for the first quarter of this year at the Port of New York and New Jersey.
   Total general cargo rose from 4.3 million metric tons during the first quarter of last year to 4.9 million metric tons in 2001, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, the port said.
   Imports rose 6.4 percent from 3.1 million metric tons during the first quarter of last year to 3.3 million metric tons during the same period in 2001. Exports jumped 32.5 percent from 1.2 million metric tons last year to 1.5 million metric tons this year.
   The rise in general cargo exports was driven by increases in wood pulp (up 46 percent); plastics (up 75 percent) and machinery (up 28 percent). The value of all cargo handled by the port exceeded $22 billion, said New York Governor George E. Pataki.
   Neil D. Levin, the port authority’s executive director, said U.S. Census data shows that container cargo from Asia increased 14.1 percent. The Asian cargo business “has allowed our port to flourish during this rough economic period,” Levin said.
   “The carriers are recognizing what the port authority has been promoting for some time — that there are major benefits to using all water service through the Suez and Panama canals to transport goods to the East Coast of the United States,” Levin said.