Port of NY/NJ continues box growth in February

The largest port on the U.S. East Coast saw containerized cargo volumes tick up 1.2 percent to 507,066 TEUs in February 2017, a record for the month, according to the most recent figures from the port authority.    The Port of New York and New Jersey handled 507,066 TEUs of containerized cargo in February 2017, a 1.2 percent increase from the same 2016 period and a new record for the month, according to the most recent figures from the port authority.
   The previous high for February was set at 500,659 TEUs in 2016.
   Through the first two months of 2017, container terminals in the Port of New York and New Jersey saw volumes grow 4.6 percent year-over-year to 1.02 million TEUs, also a record for the port.
   Year to date, throughput of loaded imports rose 3.4 percent to 299,854 containers, while loaded exports inched up 1.9 percent to 120,735 containers compared with the same 2016 period. Exports of empty containers increased 10.2 percent year-over-year to 164,274 containers, while empty imports dropped 35.7 percent to 2,134 containers.
   The port authority’s ExpressRail system also set a new monthly record in February, handling 41,837 containers, a 2.3 percent increase from February 2016. Total ExpressRail traffic for the first two months of the year grew 6.2 percent year-over-year to 86,213 containers.
   Through February, auto volumes at the port surged 15.9 percent to 90,134 units compared with the prior-year period.