Port of NY/NJ posts record volumes in April

The largest port on the U.S. East Coast saw its share of containerized cargo slip in the first four months of 2017, but may have a chance to gain market share once again with larger ships now able to call terminals west of the Bayonne Bridge.    The Port of New York and New Jersey handled 547,013 TEUs of containerized cargo in April 2017, 11.8 percent more than in the same month last year and the best April for the port ever.
   The port said its share of total U.S. containerized cargo slipped to 14.8 percent in the first four months of 2017, compared with 15.5 percent in the first four months of 2016. But it may have a chance to gain market share once again with larger ships now able to call container terminals in Newark and Elizabeth New Jersey and Staten Island because of the removal of the lower deck of the Bayonne Bridge.
   Larger containerships will be able to call the container terminals of APM Terminals, Maher Terminals, Port Newark Container Terminal, and GCT Global terminals when restrictions are lifted at the end of June.
   Besides being a record for the month, April 2017’s container volumes also were one of the top 10 best months ever recorded in the history of the port, said the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
   During April 2017, loaded import containers jumped 14 percent year-over-year to 278,868 TEUs, while export loads were up 4 percent to 119,415 TEUs.
   In the first four months of the year, the port has handled 2.08 million TEUs, 4.8 percent more than in the first four months of 2016.
   Cargo shipped via the port authority’s on-dock intermodal system, ExpressRail, was up 4.6 percent in April 2017 to 47,043 containers of all sizes. Year-to-date ExpressrRail volumes remain ahead of 2016’s pace by 2.5 percent.
   The port handled 46,092 autos in April 2017, 2.2 percent more than in April 2016. Through April, auto volumes are up 10.6 percent compared to the same period in 2016.