A month after reporting that October was its best-ever month for container volume, the Port of Virginia announced Friday that November wasn’t too far off the mark, ending up as its second-best month on record.
The port’s terminals last month moved 236,155 containers as measured in 20-foot units, or TEUs, an industry benchmark. That was a 16.1 percent increase from the same month a year ago, when container volume dropped slightly year-over-year.
“November was a strong month, and we experienced solid growth in import and export volumes, which were up 17 percent and 15 percent (respectively). Our peak-season volumes will begin tapering off in December, which is normal,” said John Reinhart, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority, in a statement.
“We were in positive territory in many categories, but one exception is vessel calls, and this is in keeping with the era of fewer calls, but larger vessels and corresponding cargo volumes.”
The port reported 151 vessel calls in November, down 16 ships or 9.6 percent from a year earlier.
Rail-container volume at the port last month surged 34.7 percent, year over year, while truck containers grew by 7.5 percent.
Breakbulk tonnage – noncontainerized cargo packed in or on bales, drums or pallets – was unchanged from a year ago.
From January through November, total TEU volume at the port was up 3.1 percent from the same period last year; rail volume was up 13.8 percent; truck volume was down 2.6 percent; and breakbulk tonnage was down 31.2 percent.
November was the 10th month in a row that the port saw TEU volumes topping 210,000 units.
Imports at the nation’s big retail container ports are expected to grow 3.2 percent in December, year over year, according to a monthly Global Port Tracker report released Friday by the Washington, D.C.-based National Retail Federation, the world’s largest trade association, and Hackett Associates, a consulting firm.
“There’s still shopping to be done, and retailers are making sure the gifts that need to be under a tree are waiting on the shelves,” said Jonathan Gold, federation vice president for supply chain and customs policy, in a statement. “Imports are up a healthy amount over this time last year, and that’s a good sign for holiday sales and the economy.”
Source: The Virginian-Pilot (LF)
Source: The Virginian-Pilot