The Port of New York and New Jersey announced that cargo volumes for 2017 surpassed the existing annual cargo volume record set in 2015 by 5.3%. During 2017, the port handled 6,710,817 TEUs compared to 6,371,720 TEUs handled in 2015.
The record volumes were attributed partially to the completion of the Bayonne Bridge Navigational Clearance Project in June 2017. The new record allowed the port to cement its position as the third largest port in the US.
The 2017 port cargo record was fueled by a 5.7% increase over 2015 in import TEUs, from 3,214,338 import loaded containers in 2015 to 3,396,469 import loaded containers in 2017.
ExpressRail, the Port Authority’s ship-to-rail system serving New York and New Jersey marine terminals, set a new record in 2017 as well, handling 567,649 container lifts for a 5.1% increase.
The port also reported a 14.3% increase in vehicles imported into the port’s public berths, from 505,151 handled in 2016 to 577,223 handled in 2017. In addition, the port’s Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne reported a record 593,403 passengers handled in 2017, a 16% increase over last year’s activity.
Despite the increase in cargo volume since 2015, the particulate matter and nitrogen oxide emissions created by port activities were reduced by more than 14%, due to the port’s Clean Air Strategy environmental programs.
