Port Traffic Metrics: Baltimore, Long Beach, New York/New Jersey, Virginia
Baltimore: Monthly Records in January for General Cargo and Containers
Last year’s record pace continued through January for the public marine terminals in the Port of Baltimore, which posted more records in January. That included a monthly high of 923,030 short tons for general cargo (which includes cars, containers, farm and construction equipment, forest products, and breakbulk).
The January total included 712,386 tons of containerized cargo, a monthly record and a year/or/year gain of 20 percent. Double-digit gains were also posted by rolled paper (+26 percent) and autos (+16 percent). The January container count jumped 17.2 percent to a near record 81,028 TEUs, surpassed only by the August 2015 total of 86,149.
Last year the public marine terminals owned and managed by the Maryland Port Administration handled record volumes of general cargo (10.1 million tons) and containers (869,485 TEUs).
Business at the Port of Baltimore generates about 13,650 direct jobs, while more than 127,000 jobs in Maryland are linked to port activities. The port is responsible for nearly $3 billion in individual wages and salary and more than $310 million in state and local tax revenues.
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Long Beach: February Container Trade Impacted by Lunar New Year
Reduced economic activity in Asia associated with the Lunar New Year contributed to lower February container volumes at the Port of Long Beach. February’s 498,311 TEUs were down 11.2 percent from a year ago, the highest-volume February in the port’s history.
The Lunar New Year holiday began January 28, almost two weeks earlier than in 2016. The Lunar New Year typically results in slower trade since businesses in China — the port’s primary trading partner — close for a week or more to observe the holiday. The impact on the port is seen two weeks afterwards, accounting for the time it takes vessels to cross the Pacific.
In detail, the February data show declines from February 2016 of 15.6 percent for inbound loads, 2.6 percent for outbound loads, and 9.7 for empty containers.
Volume year-to-date, totaled nearly 1.1 million TEUs, down 1.5 percent compared to January-February 2016.
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New York and New Jersey Port Traffic Records in January 2017
Container volumes at the Port of New York & Jersey hit monthly highs in January of 296,432 lifts or 517,668 TEUs, for an increase of 8.3 percent compared to January 2016.
Inbound loads accounted for 260,725 TEUs (+5.5 percent), outbound loads for 110,958 TEUs (+8.1 percent) and empty containers for 145,985TEUs (+14.6 percent).
Other January data show increases from a year ago of 10.3 percent for rail-transported container units and 41.5 percent for auto volumes.
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Virginia Container Traffic Remained Strong in February, up 6.9% for Fiscal Year to Date
The Port of Virginia® reports February container throughput at its Hampton Roads marine terminals amounted to 220,376 TEUs, just 351 fewer than the February 2016 total. Volume through February for the fiscal year that began last July 1 to some 2.8 million TEUs, an increase of 6.9 percent from the 1.7 million TEU total for the comparable period of FY 2015-16.
As shown in the attachment, other February data show year-on-year increases of 3.3 percent for containerized cargo tons, 1.9 percent for breakbulk cargo, 36.2 percent for barged containers, and 14.7 percent for vehicle units.
The continued growth comes as the port begins the engineering and survey work on its capacity expansion plan at Virginia International Gateway (VIG), Work at Norfolk International Terminals will begin this summer. These projects are the focus of the port’s plan to expand annual throughput capacity by 40 percent – 1 million containers – in three years.
"February 2016 was 29 days long versus 28, so our cargo flows remain consistent with a good balance in our export-import trade," said John F. Reinhart, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority. "We are preparing for a period of significant activity as the new alliance vessel calls begin in April and the construction work begins to progress. Our messages of expansion, our capacity to handle the large vessels and our ability to move that cargo to market by either train truck or barge are gathering traction within the industry. We remain focused on the goal of consistency during this transition period."