Facebook Twitter Twitter    Archive | www.aapa-ports.org May 26, 2015
   

Port Statistics: NAFTA Region, Georgia, Houston, Long Beach/Los Angeles, Seattle/Tacoma

Print Print this Article | Send to Colleague

NAFTA Region Port Container Traffic Set Records in 2014

Port container trade volumes within the geo-political region encompassed by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) reached a record high in 2014 of 56.9 million TEUs. That was up 4.1 percent from 2013, the weakest growth year since the market collapse in 2009. It was also 2.3 times the box count of two decades ago.  
Record highs and year-on-year increases were posted as well by the NAFTA partners individually – Canada ( 3.8 percent), Mexico ( 3.7 percent), and the United States ( 4.1 percent).  

From a long term perspective, Mexican ports as group have outperformed their northern neighbors by a substantial margin, with container trade growth since 1995 averaging 12.2 percent annually, compared to 6.3 percent for Canada, 4.3 percent for the United States and 4.9 percent for the region overall. Click here for details.

The data come from AAPA surveys and include loaded containers inbound and outbound, as well as empties handled in foreign and domestic trade. 

In 2014, nearly three-quarters of the ports experienced box traffic gains. Among the percentage growth leaders were Portland (ME), Beaumont, Philadelphia, Nanaimo, Puerto Morelos (Mexico), Prince Rupert, Hilo, and Saint John (NB).

Los Angeles and Long Beach remained the leading container ports in the NAFTA region and indeed the entire Western Hemisphere. Others among the Top 5 were New York/New Jersey, Seattle/Tacoma, and Savannah. Port Metro Vancouver, Montreal and Prince Rupert ranked first, second and third, respectively in Canada, while Manzanillo, Lázaro Cárdenas, and Veracruz were the leaders in Mexico.  

The Top 5 U.S. ports: Los Angeles, Long Beach, New York/New Jersey, Seattle/Tacoma and Savannah   accounted for 60 percent, the Top 10 for 81 percent, and the Top 25 for 98 percent of total 2014 U.S. container traffic measured in TEUs.

The second attachment presents 2014 container traffic profiles of 70 Canadian, Mexican and U.S. ports, with data as available on TEUs, boxes and metric tons of containerized cargo. The third attachment ranks the 50 top NAFTA-area ports based on 2014 TEU throughput and includes comparative 2013 volumes and standings. 

Georgia: Savannah Box Count Up 25.8 percent, GPA Adopts $141.8 Million Capital Budget

Throughput at Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City terminal in the Port of Savannah jumped 25.8 percent in April to a new monthly high of 335,337 TEUs. Ro/ro traffic at its Savannah and Brunswick facilities also rose sharply, up 14.1 percent from April 2014 to 77,574 vehicle and machinery units.

The April data also point to a near doubling of break bulk shipments through the GPA’s multipurpose Ocean Terminal facility in Savannah, to 166,489 tons from 81,691 tons in April 2014. GPA's break bulk tonnage system-wide grew by 38.7 percent in April to 322,603 tons.

"Across the logistics industry, focus has centered on GPA's ability to handle large volume increases with no congestion," said GPA Executive Director Curtis Foltz. 

To maintain service levels, the GPA board on May 18 approved $141.8 million in capital improvements with passage of its fiscal year 2016 budget. That included $33.4 million to improve power infrastructure for cranes, paving, increased rail capacity and other terminal improvements at the ports of Savannah and Brunswick.

Another $83.4 million will go toward property development and the purchase of new equipment. Of that, $33 million will pay for 30 new rubber-tired gantry cranes. The addition of conductor rails to support Savannah's transition to electric RTGs will cost $11.5 million and allow 20 more RTGs to run on electricity instead of diesel.

The board also dedicated $16.5 million toward the purchase of four new ship-to-shore cranes. The super post-panamax cranes will cost a total of $48.19 million.

It also allocated $3 million for property development at Ocean Terminal and $5.5 million to develop more land at Colonel's Island Terminal in Brunswick to support growing auto volumes.

Houston: Big April Gains for Containers, Steel Cargo, Revenues; Successful Cruise Season Concludes

Some 4.0 million tons cargo crossed the Port of Houston Authority’s docks in April, a 23 percent increase from a year ago, Executive Director Roger Guenther reported at the port commission’s May 19 meeting. Loaded container units jumped 46 percent and steel imports 40 percent compared to April 2014.

Year to date, the port authority has handled more than 13 million tons of cargo, an increase of 11 percent reflecting reflected solid growth for each category of general cargo – containers, autos, steel and other break bulk commodities.

The port authority also reported a record month in revenue. For the year, the port authority has generated $103 million in revenue, a 30 percent increase. The port authority says it has added $51 million in cash flow, which will be put to work in enhancing facilities.

Additionally, the port in April concluded a successful cruise season that included 24 sailings by Princess Cruises’ Emerald Princess, 28 by NCL’s Norwegian Jewel and a total of roughly 144,000 passengers. Cruising from Houston resumes in mid-October. 

San Pedro Ports See Slight Gain in April Box Traffic

The San Pedro Harbor ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles together handled container volumes totaling just under 1.3 million TEUs in April, an increase of 0.2 percent from April 2014. In detail, the data show declines from a year ago of 2.2 percent for inbound loads, 11.3 for outbound loads, and an increase of 17.7 percent for empty containers. That brought year-to-date throughput at America’s largest container handling complex to nearly 4.6 million TEUs, down 3.1 percent from 4.7 million TEUs in January-April 2014. Click here for details.

Puget Sound Ports Top 1 Million TEUs in January-April

Puget Sound container volumes stabilized in April, growing 1 percent year to date to 1,106,384 TEUs. The moderate volumes reflect the return of normal operations at the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, as the ports finished clearing the backlog of cargo that built up during contract negotiations between the West Coast labor union and employers. 

The data show increases from January-April 2014 of 3 percent for exports, 1 percent for imports, and a 1 percent drop in the ports’ domestic container trade with Alaska and Hawaii. The ports expect container volumes to continue to stabilize in the coming months as vessels return to normal service schedules and manufacturers in Asia clear excess inventory.

As indicated in the attachment, other data point to a 4.3 percent increase in cargo tonnage overall, reflecting year-on-year gains for grain ( 3.0 percent), molasses (( 4.5 percent), and containerized goods ( 5.9 percent).
 

Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn