Volumes were up 10.4 percent from 2014, but on 7.4 percent fewer ships calling at the port, indicating that much of the cargo is arriving on larger ships, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s marine terminals handled a record 6,371,720 TEUs of containerized cargo in 2015, a 10.4 percent increase over 2014, when the previous annual record was established, according to the authority.
The port saw 2,251 vessel calls in 2015, however, down 7.4 percent from the prior year. The port authority said the reduction in vessel calls illustrates that much of the cargo coming into the port is arriving in larger ships.
The port authority said it expects that trend to continue after the Bayonne Bridge is raised. Work on the $1.6 billion project to raise the roadbed of the bridge so that larger ships can pass beneath it on their way to marine terminals in Newark, Elizabeth and Staten Island is continuing. The “raise the bridge” project is now 44 percent complete and the navigational clearance expected to be completed by the end of 2017.
“Record volumes allowed the port to maintain its position as the busiest on the East Coast with nearly 30 percent of the total market share,” said the authority. “Despite the increases in cargo, the Port of New York and New Jersey has experienced a 33 percent reduction in port emissions pollutants since 2006 due to environmental initiatives.”
ExpressRail, the port authority’s ship-to-rail system serving New York and New Jersey marine terminals, also set a new record, handling 522,244 containers of all sizes, an increase of 12.2 percent over 2014, the previous best year for rail activity
In 2015, the port reported a 21.5 percent increase in vehicles handled in the port – from 392,704 vehicles handled in 2014 to 477,170 vehicles in 2015. To attract new vehicle business to the port, the authority began a targeted program in 2014 to attract new automobile manufacturers and provide incentives to existing ones to increase the port’s vehicle volumes.
On the labor front, 181 new longshoremen, 44 checkers and 62 mechanics were hired in 2015 to work at port facilities, supplementing the 568 dockworkers hired in 2014 for a total of 855 new dockworkers over the last two years.
John Nardi, president of the New York Shipping Association said that growing the volume of cargo at the port “allows us to keep our unit cost on a downward trajectory which makes the port more competitive.”
Of the 3,214,338 TEUs of cargo imported through the port in 2015, 1,013,669 TEUs originated in China. Following China was India with 196,956 import TEUs and Germany with 189,622 import TEUs. The top import commodities at the Port of New York and New Jersey are furniture, apparel and clothing, and machinery parts.
Port of NY/NJ handles record 6.37m TEUs in 2015
