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Port Performance: Georgia, Redwood City, Saint John, Toronto

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Fiscal 2013-14 was a banner year for the Georgia Ports Authority, with cargo tonnage and Ro/Ro traffic at all-time highs and the container count exceeding 3-million TEUs for the first time ever. An upsurge in Bay area construction activity drove Redwood City port cargo traffic to an eight-year high in FY 2013-14. Container volumes continue at record levels at Port Saint John, with the first half 2014 TEU count up 15.9 percent from a year ago. The Toronto Port Authority (TPA) earned a profit in 2013 for the sixth year in a row.

Georgia Ports Top 3 Million TEUs, Set Cargo tonnage and Ro/Ro Unit Records in FY 2014 


Nighttime operations at GPA’s Garden City Container Terminal in Savannah
Photo/Georgia Ports Authority

Fiscal 2013-14 was a banner year for the Georgia Ports Authority, with cargo tonnage and Ro/Ro traffic at record levels and the container count exceeding 3-million TEUs for the first time ever.

The 3.14 million TEUs handled at the Port of Savannah beat the prior year total by 6.3 percent, or 186,567 TEUs.

Cargo movements at GPA terminals statewide rose 8 percent to 29.4 million tons. Containerized cargo accounted for 24.0 million tons ( 8.2 percent), breakbulk for 2.63 million tons ( 5.2 percent) and agricultural and other bulks for 2.73 million tons ( 8.3 percent).

In FY 2013-14 as well, 674,327 units rolled through the Port of Brunswick’s dedicated auto and machinery terminal and an additional 26,375 through Savannah’s Ocean Terminal, boosting the GPA total by 10 percent to a record 700,702 units.

"Our ports support a broad range of industries, ranging from forestry and food production to auto manufacturing and retail," said GPA Executive Director Curtis Foltz. "The additional cargo attracted to Georgia in FY14 speaks to the powerful and growing impact Georgia’s ports have on the state and region."


Vessel loading wheat at the Georgia Ports Authority Colonel's Island Terminal in Brunswick
Photo/Emily Goldman, Georgia Ports Authority

Redwood City Cargo Tonnage Hits 8-Year High in FY 2014  

An upsurge in San Francisco Bay area construction activity drove Redwood City port cargo traffic to an eight-year high of 1,784,659 metric tons during the fiscal year that ended June 30. That was up 19 percent from 1,493,190 tons in FY 2012-13 and the third highest volume since the chartering of the municipal port agency in 1936.

Imported sand was the port’s leading cargo commodity, with 44 percent of total FY 2014 tonnage, followed by imported aggregates (32 percent), exported scrap metal (16 percent), imported bauxite (3 percent), imported gypsum (3 percent), domestic sand (2 percent) and imported ground slag (1 percent). No cement was imported in FY 2014 and none is expected in FY 2015.

That cargo was carried on the 64 ships and 25 barges, up from 51 ships and 19 barges in FY 2013, according to Port Operations Manager Don Snaman.

Sand and aggregates imports by Cemex Aggregates reached a record 1,351,815 tons, up 29 percent from 1,047,705 tons in FY 2013. The aggregates are transported from a quarry on North Vancouver Island owned by Eagle Rock Aggregates to Redwood City by self-discharging bulk carriers operated by Canadian Steamship Lines.

"The high quality of the sand and gravel aggregates from British Columbia combined with the dwindling supply of these materials in Northern California because quarries are unable to expand triggered a strong demand that the Port benefited from," said Port Executive Director Michael J. Giari.

Container Traffic Boom Continues at Port Saint John

Port Saint John’s mushrooming container trade is evident from the latest data. Measured in TEUs, volume jumped 19.4 percent in June and 15.9 in the first half 2014 compared to prior year levels. This year’s gains follow the 50 percent jump the port experienced in 2013. Similarly, first half containerized cargo reached 289,456 metric tons, up 12.2 percent from a year ago and in fact exceeded the 257,429 tons handled in all of CY 2011. Click here for details.

"In 2012, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) put confidence in Port Saint John," said Port Saint John CEO Jim Quinn. "Along with long time stakeholder Tropical Shipping, these lines have shown how vital our port is to the region. Shippers and receivers are using Port Saint John more, that means greater economic activity for our city and province."


Saint John’s Rodney Terminal abuzz with container activity
Photo/Port Saint John

Toronto Port Authority Marks its Sixth Consecutive Year of Profitability  

The Toronto Port Authority (TPA) earned a profit in 2013 for the sixth year in a row. In fact, as shown in the agency’s newly released 2013 Audited Financial Statements, all of its business units were profitable on an operating basis in 2013.

The TPA’s Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (BBTCA) generated income, including Airport Improvement Fees, of C$18.0 million. Port operations reported operating income of C$1.1 million (down from C$1.4 million in 2012), while Outer Harbour Marina operating income increased by roughly C$100,000 to C$1.4 million.

Overall net income reached C$13.7 million, down from C$19.6 million due to increased airport operating expenses relating to an agreement resolution with the City of Toronto regarding payments in lieu of taxes, as well as higher security and legal costs. In addition, the TPA received no payments from land disposition, as compared to the amount of C$1.8 million received during the 2012 fiscal year.

From its C$50.3 million in total revenue for 2013, the TPA paid nearly C$2.5 million to the federal government in the form of the gross revenue charge and approximately C$3 million to the City of Toronto for payments in lieu of taxes, implying, as the TPA notes, a "notional corporate tax rate" of 28.33 percent of its pro forma operating income.

"Our continued profitability is a clear indication of the strength of each of TPA’s owned and operated businesses, and our organization as a whole," said Geoffrey Wilson, TPA President and CEO. "The TPA is a self-sustaining organization that does not receive public funding and we are proud of our ability to maintain financial success, as this success enables us to continue to support community events and organizations that better the businesses and lives of the people who call the waterfront home."

During the past five years, the TPA invested more than C$5.6 million in community initiatives, include some C$1.25 million dedicated to environmental initiatives, mainly the creation of wetland area and fish habitat and the removal of millions of pounds of debris from Toronto’s Harbour. The TPA and BBTCA also spent several hundred thousand dollars in 2013 to acquire 100 percent green electricity for port and airport operations, as it has been doing since 2010.

In 2013, the TPA also spent C$2.5 million to repair the City of Toronto’s Ship Channel Bridge, some C$2 million in upgrades at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, and C$1.5 million for improvements to the Outer Harbour Marina.

"In addition to playing a key role in the local community, the TPA is also a significant contributor of taxes and employment to the City, and to the overall prosperity and growth of our local, provincial and national economies," said Port Authority Board Chairman Mark McQueen. "The TPA’s solid financial performance has provided the means to invest in infrastructure improvements that are critical to Toronto’s tourism, logistics, transportation and construction industries."

 

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