Snow, cold weather slow Port of Virginia cargo volumes in February

The port said a recently completed bond sale will save it nearly $15 million.    The Port of Virginia handled 178,105 TEUs in February, a 1 percent decline from February 2014, as back-to-back snowstorms and bitter cold had a significant effect on productivity.
   “The snowstorms that passed through Hampton Roads on President’s Day (Feb. 16) and Feb. 25 caused five vessels and nearly 7,000 containers to slip from February to March,” the port said. “Had operations gone uninterrupted in February, the port’s TEU volume would have been 5.8 percent ahead of last year.”
   “The weather we had in February forced us to close for nearly four days and that had a direct negative impact on every phase of our operation: gates, vessels and rail,” said John F. Reinhart, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority (VPA). “Following resumption of operations we were still contending with bitter cold and icy conditions that hampered productivity. It was a tough month and it has been expensive to mitigate the weather and closures. We are focusing on regaining our operating tempo to improve flow at the gates and velocity at the rail and vessel operations.”
   The port noted that for the fiscal year that began last July, volumes are up 7.3 percent, and for the calendar year, volumes are up 6.7 percent thanks to a strong January.
   The port also said it sold $141.8 million in port facilities revenue refunding bonds to investors last week.
   “As a result of the sale, the VPA will reduce its debt costs and realize significant savings,” said Reinhart. “We will realize net savings of $14.7 million on a present value basis, equal to 9.9 percent of the refinanced debt.”