Port of NY/NJ box volume growth continues in May

The North Atlantic port handled 565,052 TEUs in May, up 7.6 percent from May 2016, and officials expect volumes to grow even further now that ships up to 18,000 TEUs can now sail beneath the Bayonne Bridge.    The Port of New York & New Jersey handled a total of 565,052 TEUs in May, up 7.6 percent from May 2016, according to data provided by the port.
   Broken down by category in May, compared to 12 months prior:
     • Loaded imports totaled 283,466 TEUs, up 5.4 percent;
     • Empty imports totaled 2,208 TEUs, up 3.9 percent;
     • Loaded exports totaled 119,287 TEUs, up 3.5 percent;
     • And empty exports totaled 160,091 TEUs, up 15.3 percent.
   During the first five months of 2017, the port handled 2.65 million TEUs, up 5.4 percent from the corresponding 2016 period.
   Looking ahead, the port could potentially expect an even further increase in cargo volumes, in the wake of the port authority recently completing a multiyear project to raise the height of the Bayonne Bridge between New Jersey and Staten Island to allow ships over 9,800 TEUs to call terminals west of the bridge.
   Ultra-large containerships carrying up to 18,000 TEUs have been authorized to sail beneath the bridge as of June 8, and are now able to call at APM Terminals and Maher Terminals in Elizabeth, N.J.; the Port Newark Container Terminal in Newark, N.J.; and the GCT New York terminal on Staten Island.
   Ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting’s Port Dashboard tool shows the port is currently called by 43 liner services: 32 deploying fully cellular containerships, seven deploying roll-on/roll off vessels or pure car/truck carriers, three deploying con-ro vessels, and one deploying multi-purpose vessels.