Port of NY/NJ on pace for record cargo volumes in 2017

Data show that between January and June of this year, the East Coast’s busiest seaport handled 3.2 million TEUs, compared to 3.0 million units during the same period in 2016.

   Cargo volumes at the Port of New York and New Jersey are on record pace for 2017, with throughput in the first six months of 2017 4.4 percent higher than the same period in 2015, when the previous record of 3,093,789 TEUs was set, according to recent data from the port authority.
   Between January and June this year, the port handled 3.2 million TEUs, compared to 3,041,287 TEUs handled during the same period in 2016.
   In June alone, the port handled 584,606 TEUs, making it the best June on record for NY/NJ and the second highest monthly volume ever recorded in the port’s history.
   Also increasing during the first half of the year was the amount of cargo handled by ExpressRail, the ship-to-rail system serving New York and New Jersey marine terminals. From January to June, ExpressRail handled 273,991 lifts, up 2.8 percent from the previous six-month record of 266,624 lifts set in 2016. ExpressRail handled 50,693 lifts in June alone, marking the first time the on-dock rail system handled more than 50,000 lifts in a single month.
   Once the Port Jersey segment of the port’s rail network opens early next year, it’s expected to give the port the capacity to handle 1.5 million container lifts a year – far greater capacity than any other East Coast seaport – and eliminate 2,250,000 annual truck trips from local highways, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ).
   In addition to containerized cargo, the port reported a 7.7 percent increase in vehicles handled by auto processors serving the port – from 245,765 units handled in first half 2016 to 264,766 units in 2017. PANYNJ attributed the increase in part to a program launched in 2014 to provide financial incentives to auto manufacturers who bring new or increased vehicle business to the port.
   “Moving forward, we will continue to work with all our stakeholders to further enhance our ability to handle these record levels of cargo to maintain our designation as the East Coast’s premier port,” PANYNJ Port Department Director Molly Campbell said in a statement.