Record Volumes Reported At NY and NJ Ports For 2015

What’s the largest port on the East Coast?

With a record-setting cargo volume of 6.37 million TEUs for 2015 – up more than 10 percent from the previous year - the Port of New York and New Jersey takes home the honors, according to the Port Authority of NY/NJ.

On Monday, Port Authority officials released their 2015 cargo volume statistics for the facilities under its dominion: Port Newark, the Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal, the Howland Hook Marine Terminal, the Brooklyn-Port Authority Marine Terminal, the Red Hook Container Terminal, and the Port Jersey Port Authority Marine Terminal.

Among the data:

• During the year, the port handled 6,371,720 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), or 3,664,013 cargo containers, an increase of 10.4 percent over 2014 when the previous annual record was established.
• The Port of New York and New Jersey captured nearly 30 percent of the total market share.
• The port experienced a 33 percent reduction in port emissions pollutants since 2006 “due to environmental initiatives it has implemented.”
• 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 handled in 2015.
• Currently, the port generates 336,600 full-time jobs in the region, an increase of 13 percent over 2012, according to a recent study by the New York Shipping Association.
• Port facilities hired 181 new longshoremen, 44 checkers and 62 mechanics in 2015, supplementing the 568 dockworkers hired in 2014, for a total of 855 new dockworkers over the last two years.
• In 2015, China remained the top import country serving the port, with 1,013,669 import TEUs. Following China is India with 196,956 import TEUs and Germany with 189,622 import TEUs.
• The top import commodities are furniture, apparel and clothing, and machinery parts.
• There were 2,251 vessel calls in 2015, down 7.4 percent from vessel calls in 2014.

While optimistic about the port’s uptick in volume, authorities also cited a future need to avoid labor difficulties such as the recent walkout that took place on Jan. 29.

• See related article: Port Workers In NJ Walk Off Job, Halting Operations

“We also need to maintain labor harmony in the port to ensure future growth, and we will work closely with the New York Shipping Association, International Longshoremen’s Association and other stakeholders to prevent a recurrence of the one-day labor walkout late last month,” Port Authority Port Commerce Director Molly Campbell stated in a release.