AAPA Seaports Advisory
 

Port Traffic Metrics: Baltimore, Georgia, Green Bay, New York/New Jersey, Redwood City, Northwest Seaport Alliance

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Baltimore Cargo Records Continue In 2017

Monthly general cargo shipments exceeded a million tons ever this May at the Port of Baltimore. Those 1,007,704 tons beat the port’s previous record, 927,030 tons in January 2017, and exceeded the May 2016 total by 11 percent.

General cargo includes cars, containers, farm and construction machinery, breakbulk and forest products (including rolled paper and wood pulp).  

May was also a record month for the port’s container trade, with throughput totaling of 86,403 TEUs. The year-to-date total of 382,165 TEUs was up 8.2 percent from the January-May period of what proved to be the record year of 2016.
The Maryland Port Administration recently purchased 70 acres near Seagirt Marine Terminal to accommodate the port’s expanding container trade.  

"The Port of Baltimore continues to perform at a very high level and has had a tremendous year so far," said Governor Larry Hogan. "With thousands of direct jobs and nearly 130,000 jobs in Maryland that are connected to the port, our administration remains committed to the port’s continued success."  


Georgia Ports Authority Marks Busiest June, Record Fiscal Year

Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) reports container throughput at the Port of Savannah reach a record 3.85 million TEUs during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017, up 6.7 percent compared to FY 2015-16. In the final is months, volume jumped 11.6 percent to 1.99 million TEUs.  

The GPA capped the record fiscal year with its busiest June ever 337,710 TEUs, a 17-percent jump from June 2016.

Cargo movements through GPA terminals statewide increased 8.3 percent to a fiscal year record of 33.4 million short tons in 2016-17.

"We could not have achieved this record-breaking year without the hard work and outstanding dedication of our employees," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. "Our volume growth continues to outpace forecasted demand. Shipping lines are moving 13,000- and 14,000-TEU vessels into service on the East Coast more quickly than anticipated, and concentrating their deliveries at efficient gateway ports like Savannah. This new crane purchase, along with the four already on order, will enable GPA to increase crane capacity by nearly 40 percent."

Looking ahead, the GPA board at its July 24 meeting approved $72.75 million to purchase six more Neopanamax ship-to-shore cranes. The new machines will arrive in 2020, and are in addition to a previous order of four cranes that will be operational in June of next year. The 10 additional units will boost the GPA container crane fleet to 36, allowing it to move more than 1,300 containers per hour across a single dock.


Cargo Tonnage rebounds at the Port of Green Bay

What began as a strong shipping season at the Port of Green Bay, continued into the month of June. After a slower month in May, numbers rebounded in June. Year-to-date tonnage was up 8.0 percent from the comparable period of the 2016 season.

"The increase in imports is due in large part to salt, petroleum and coal," said Port Director Dean Haen. "Petroleum continues to be a key player in imports, but we also exported a significant amount of petroleum in June as well. We expect the season to continue going strong, but month to month variances are very likely."

This season through June, the port received 53 ship calls, 6 more than s the same time last year.
The Port of Green Bay imported/exported 1.8 million tons of cargo in 2016. Click here for details.


New York/New Jersey: Container Trade Record in First Half 2017

Container movements through the Port of New York and New Jersey totaled a record 3,229,675 TEUs during first half calendar year 2017. That was up 6.2 percent from last year and beat the previous record – 3,093,789 TEUs in January-June 2015 – by 4.4 percent.

The June count   584,606 TEUs – gave the port its best June and second busiest month ever.

Box movements via ExpressRail, the port authority’s ship-to-rail system serving New York and New Jersey marine terminals, also continued to increase. During the first six months of 2017, ExpressRail handled 273,991 lifts, up 2.8 percent from the previous record, 266,624 lifts in January-June 2016. In June alone, ExpressRail handled more than 50,000 lifts for the first time in a single month - a total of 50,693, to be exact.

The agency’s investment of more than $600 million in ExpressRail was made possible by the Cargo Facility Charge and has been critical in addressing the need for on-dock rail to improve port efficiency, competitiveness and reduce emissions.  The opening early next year of ExpressRail Port Jersey will boost the port’s capacity to 1.5 million lifts a year and thereby eliminate 2,250,000 truck trips annually from local highways.

The port’s auto trade also performed well during the first half, increasing 7.7 percent to 264766 units from 245,765 in first half 2016. The port authority says the increase was in part due to aa program launched in 2014 that offers financial incentives to auto manufacturers who bring new or increased vehicle business to the port.

"This summer’s completion of navigational clearance on the $1.6 billion Bayonne Bridge project was a major game changer for this port, and we believe will be a catalyst for continued port growth as the world’s biggest, modern, fuel efficient vessels can now call on our terminals," said Port Department Director Molly Campbell, PPM®.  "Moving forward, we will continue to work with all our stakeholders to further enhance our ability to handle these record levels of cargo to maintain our designation as the East Coast’s premier port."


Redwood City Cargo Topped 1.5 Million Tons in FY 2016-17

Port of Redwood City reports handling 1,552,813 metric tons of cargo during the fiscal year that ended June 30. Though down 5.5 percent from FY 2015-16, it was still the port’s sixth highest tonnage total in the past 30 years.  This year the port is expecting a rebound to 1,812,000 tons in FY 2017-18.

The port’s 2016-17 cargo data show scrap metal exports to Asia up 25 percent to 290,805 tons and gypsum imports from Mexico doubling to 144,137 tons. The gypsum is used in the manufacture of wallboard.

Despite strong demand in Silicon Valley and the South Bay for construction materials, the port experienced declines of 29.7 percent and 5.7 percent, respectfully, in aggregates and imported sand to 337,709 tons and 702,864 tons.  

Sand and aggregates are used to produce concrete. Self-discharging bulk carriers owned by Canadian Steamship Lines transport the cargo to Redwood City from an Eagle Rock Aggregates quarry on the northeast coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia.

Other cargo also declined – bauxite by 16.3 percent to 56,913 tons and domestic sand by 29.4 percent to 20,374 tons.  

As for vessel traffic, Redwood City received 67 ships and 18 barges in FY 2016-17, compared to 56 ships and 41 barges in FY 2015-16.

Northwest Seaport Alliance: Container Trade up 7% year-to-date through June

The Northwest Seaport Alliance reports total container volumes at its Tacoma and Seattle terminal fell 1.3 percent in June but remained up 6.6 percent year-to-date from first half CY 2016.

In detail, the June data reflect year/on/year declines of 10 percent for import loads, 14.9 percent for export loads, and a 58.9 percent jump for empty containers.

Year to date, full import volumes were up 6.9 percent to 694,175 TEUs, full exports grew 1.6 percent to 476,745 TEUs and total international container volume, including empties, increased 10.4 percent to 1,477,870 TEUs.

Domestic container traffic declined 3.1 percent for the month and 7.2 percent for the half. Alaska’s year-to-date volumes are down 8 percent and are expected to end the year 5 to 6 percent lower due to soft market conditions. Hawaii volumes through the Pacific Northwest declined 2.8 percent due to diversion to Southern California.

Other cargo data for January-June 2017:

  • Driven by demand from China, log volumes skyrocketed 138 percent to 159,704 metric tons.
  • Breakbulk cargo fell 1.0 percent to 93,257 metric tons due to soft market conditions.
  • Autos, at 74,489 units, dropped by 17 percent, reflecting weakening U.S. demand and shifting manufacturing locations.

To learn more, click on container volumes and cargo statistics

 

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