Port of Virginia sets yearly box volumes record for 2017

The port handled 2.84 million TEUs in 2017, a 7 percent increase compared to 2016.    The Port of Virginia (POV) handled 2.84 million TEUs in 2017, a 7 percent increase compared to 2016.
   In 2017, loaded import volumes totaled 1.28 million TEUs, while loaded export volumes stood at 1.01 million TEUs, up 8.6 percent and 0.8 percent year-over-year, respectively.
   “In 2017, we moved 185,000 more TEUs than we did in 2016, which until now, was our highest volume year on record,” Virginia Port Authority CEO and Executive Director John F. Reinhart said. “For calendar 2017, we had a perfect streak with every month setting a new month-record, bringing us to a new annual record and did this while undertaking the largest infrastructure project in the port’s history.
   “The growth is significant – 15,442 TEUs a month, on average – and we have responded with improved throughput and safety in all facets of the operation. With this level of growth, we are truly solidifying our position as the Mid-Atlantic’s global gateway,” he said.
   The number of ships calling the Port of Virginia dropped by 9 percent in 2017. Reinhart said that fewer ships, but ones that are larger in size with increasing cargo loads is a trend that was expected and one that will continue.
   In December alone, the Port of Virginia handled 237,525 TEUs, up 3.4 percent from December 2016. Also compared to December 2016, rail volumes were up nearly 4 percent, Richmond Marine Terminal’s volumes were up 5 percent, motor-carrier volumes were up 3.5 percent and breakbulk tonnage was up 5.6 percent.
   “In 2018, we will continue on our forward trajectory,” Reinhart said. “Our focus now is the expansion of Norfolk International Terminals (NIT), taking delivery of the first group of rail-mounted gantry cranes later this month and then bringing the first new stacks at Virginia International Gateway (VIG) online in April. We are moving forward on our wider, deeper, safer initiative that will make the Norfolk Harbor the U.S. East Coast’s deepest and safest harbor. The Port of Virginia brand and its reputation as a world-class port are growing.”