Virginia January TEUs up 11%

Virginia January TEUs up 11%    The first month of the year was a good one at the Port of Virginia where 169,000 TEUs were handled. The January figure represents a jump of 16,802 TEUs, or 11.1 percent growth over the same month last year.
   'We wrapped up 2005 forecasting that 2006 was going to be another record-setting year and we think January's numbers are a good indicator of how busy it will be,' said Thomas Capozzi, the port authority's senior managing director of marketing services. 'Our growth can primarily be attributed to strong rail volumes — they are up 14 percent — and upgraded vessel capacity on a number of carrier services.'
   In January, the port's rail volume was 20,952 TEUs, compared with 18,369 TEUs handled in the same month last year. The fiscal year-to-date (July-January) rail volume is 144,898 TEUs, compared with 122,831 TEUs for the same period in 2005, an 18 percent increase.
   In November and December 2005, the port handled 177,712 TEUs and 173,022 TEUs respectively.