Container throughput at the port is up 9 percent through the first eight months of 2015 and CMA CGM has begun offering to handle inland transport to Richmond. according to the Virginia Port Authority.
The Port of Virginia is well on pace to smash last year’s record container volumes of 2.5 million TEUs.
Through the first eight months of 2015, container throughput has increased 9 percent (141,000 TEUs) compared with the same period last year, according to the Virginia Port Authority. So far, the port’s three container terminals have moved 1.7 million TEUs going into the traditional peak season for ocean imports.
In August, the mid-Atlantic port handled 220,069 standard shipping units, up 2.7 percent from a year ago.
The extra volumes have strained port capacity during the past two years, but officials say mitigation measures are starting to have an effect in reducing congestion. Year-to-date truck and rail volumes are up 10 percent and 8 percent, respectively, and vehicle units are up 60 percent to 35,790.
The port authority is in the early stages of a long-term plan to reinvest in operations and infrastructure to improve service, increase efficiency and maintain profitability, CEO John Reinhart said in a statement Friday.
He has proposed a 10-year, $2 billion investment plan to enable the port to handle sustained growth and compete with other East Coast ports. In May, the VPA Board of Commissioners approved a $135-million capital spending plan in the current fiscal year for technology, equipment and facility upgrades.
The port started work on the first of those capital projects in July, when it broke ground on the expansion of the North Gate at Norfolk International Terminals. The truck gates will tie-in to I-564 Intermodal Connector project. Combined, the projects are expected to increase truck velocity through NIT’s north gate, remove a significant amount of daily truck traffic from Norfolk city streets and provide motor carriers with direct, safe access to Interstate 564.
Meanwhile, ocean carrier CMA CGM has begun offering shippers a straight bill of lading (BOL) to the Port of Richmond, which is operated under lease by the VPA. Richmond is located in the center of the state on the James River.
The bill of lading is designed to make the shipping process more convenient for importers and exporters because the carrier takes responsibility for arranging the inland move between Richmond and the Port of Norfolk, where CMA CGM vessels pickup and discharge containers. Otherwise, cargo owners have to contract with motor carriers, or other transportation providers, on their own.
The VPA is pushing carriers to offer the all-in-one transport service as part of broader efforts to get shippers to use the Port of Richmond, which sits between two major interstate highways and has direct rail service by CSX. Indirect access to the Norfolk Southern railroad is also available. Several other carriers, including Mediterranean Shipping Co, Yang Ming, and ZIM, already offer BOLs to Richmond.
Using its international connections and broad resources, the VPA wants to drive more traffic to the under-utilized port in Richmond by supporting more container-on-barge services to and from its marine terminals in the Hampton Roads region. The strategy is to create an intermodal hub in the center of the state similar to its truck-rail transfer station 100 miles west in Front Royal, Va., which is connected to Norfolk by the Norfolk Southern railroad
The 64 Express barge service currently offers three weekly, roundtrip container-on-barge sailings between the Port of Virginia (Norfolk International Terminals, Virginia International Gateway) and the Port of Richmond.
Port of Virginia on pace for record box growth
