From the first program held in 2008 until last year, AAPA’s annual winter conference has been called "Shifting International Trade Routes." For its 10th iteration in Tampa (Feb. 2-3), the focus ‘shifted’ to planning, with the sessions reflecting the breadth and depth of what ports must do to remain relevant and globally competitive.

America’s seaports handled nearly 1.3 billion metric of foreign trade in 2016, an increase of 1.5 percent compared to 2015, according to data collected and reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. Exports totaled 611.5 million tons, up 2.9 percent from 2015 but short of 2014’s record 614 million tons. Imports rose slightly to 673 million tons.

Renewed activity at the Port of Long Beach’s largest terminal and additional vessel calls in anticipation of the Lunar New Year helped boost the January box count to 582,689 TEUs, an 8.7 percent increase from January 2016. The Port of Oakland reports export container volume rose again in January, up 9.0 percent from a year ago to 73,352 TEUs. It was the port’s seventh consecutive month of export gains and the 12th increase in 13 months.

Port Everglades’ container throughput reached a monthly high this December of 104,590 TEUs, a 15-percent increase compared to December 2015. The Port of Virginia® set a January record this year with container volumes through its Hampton Roads facilities totaling 228,516 TEUs. That was up 8 percent from January 2016, and came despite two lost workdays due to heavy snow

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett was on hand February 6 when the Port of Milwaukee’s new crawler crane made its first heavy lift – the 200,000-pound main frame of a locally manufactured mining shovel.

Porthole Cruise Magazine has bestowed its 2017 Editor-in-Chief Award on PortMiami as Best U.S. Port for customer service, quality operations, and all around excellence.

The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) on February 5 announced the sale of 500 acres of property for commercial development to accommodate growing customer demand for warehousing, distribution and trans-load facilities near the Port of Savannah.

The Port of Virginia has deployed a new barge in the James River container feeder service between its Hampton Roads and Richmond marine terminals via the James River.

The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) recently awarded the Port of Galveston a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for its 2015 comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR).

The Lester Centre of the Arts, Prince Rupert’s premiere performing arts venue, celebrated its 30th anniversary earlier this month at a gala event featuring new theatrical lighting and stage draperies purchased through a contribution from the Port of Prince Rupert’s Community Investment Fund.