Port of NY-NJ handles record March cargo volume

Written by Andrew Corselli
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PORT OF NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY

The Port of New York and New Jersey continued besting first-quarter marks, as it handled a record cargo volume in March 2019.

The Port saw a record of approximately 1.8 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) during 1Q2019, which represents a 6.7% increase over the same period in 2018.

In addition, during March 2019 the Port handled 585,083 TEUs, the most ever for that month, which represents a 4% increase over the previous March record set in 2018 (572,572 TEUs). The cargo growth, the Port said, was bolstered by a 12% increase in export containers over the previous March.

And by moving 58,877 containers, the Port set a new March record—besting March 2018’s mark by 11%—for cargo handled by rail. Rail volume for the period of January through March 2019 rose by 8.2% year-over-year.

Auto volume was also up, as a total of 55,860 autos moved through the Port in March—a 13.5% increase over the previous year. Auto volume for the period of January through March 2019 was 4.7% greater than in the same period of 2018.

“The record cargo volume handled allowed the port to maintain its position as the busiest on the East Coast,” the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) said in a press release.

Import loads (282,981 TEUs; 161,486 lifts), though, decreased 1.9% compared to March 2019. However, from January through March 2019, imported loads at the Port reached 905,849 TEUs (515,568 lifts), a 3.9% increase over the same period in 2018.

Export loads (130,038 TEUs; 72,002 lifts), too, showed a 1.6% decline compared to the previous year. And from January through March 2019, exported loads at the Port reached 355,229 TEUs (196,836 lifts) vs. 361,700 TEUs (200,299 lifts) in the same period of 2018—a 1.8% decrease.

In March 2019, export empties increased 13.5% year-over-year to 170,777 TEUs, while first-quarter export empties grew by 19.5% to 528,472 TEUs over the same period in 2018.

Import empties were down, dropping by 23.2% for the period of January through March 2019 compared to the same period in 2018.

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