Two additional sections of a user-friendly manual to help U.S. port authorities plan, invest in and implement critical infrastructure projects, called the Port Planning and Investment Toolkit, or PPIT, are now complete.

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto joined Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen of Denmark on April 4 in Puerto Lazaro Cardenas for the inauguration of one of the Western Hemisphere’s most technologically-advanced container terminals. With annual throughput capacity of 1.2 million TEUs, APM Terminals Lázaro Cárdenas can accommodate the world’s largest container ships and represents an investment of more than US$900 million.

NuStar Energy set a single vessel cargo loading record for the Port of Corpus Christi earlier this month by pumping 930,000 barrels of crude oil onto the Suezmax tanker Cap Romuldo. The Port of Longview received the longest turbine blades since it began handling wind cargo in 2003. 

The Federal Maritime Administration on April 7 approved an agreement that allows the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) and the Virginia Port Authority (VPA) to begin discussing ways they can share information in certain operational areas.

The Belledune Port Authority (BPA) has signed an agreement with First Nation communities, which enables all parties involved to explore the development of a framework for consultation on matters related to the port and potential projects. A Prince Rupert’s sporting society has grown by leaps and bounds thanks to a financial contribution from the Port of Prince Rupert.

Carnival Cruise Line marked the beginning of a multimillion-dollar renovation of its Long Beach Cruise Terminal facility with a "FUNstruction" groundbreaking ceremony on April 12. The city-owned terminal, which Carnival has leased since 2003, processed 1.2 million embarking and debarking passengers in 2016.

The 2017 cruise season officially kicked off April 11 at the Port of Vancouver with the arrival of the Star Princess at Canada Place cruise terminal. Approximately 840,000 cruise passengers on 237 vessel visits are expected in Vancouver this year, a 2.0 percent increase in passenger volume compared to 2016.

The Port of Vancouver USA recently received its seventh consecutive clean audit from the Washington State Auditor’s Office (SAO).

The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) experienced strong growth in containerized, auto and breakbulk trade in March.  Cargo shipments at its terminals statewide totaled 2.89 million short tons, an increase from last year of 9.8 percent that made it the busiest March in GPA history. Containers arriving in Long Beach with goods bound for U.S. consumers spiked 20.2 percent in March compared to the same month in 2016, pushing the port to its best first quarter since 2007.

Port of Los Angeles container trade grew in double-digit increments last month, up 29 percent from a year ago to a March record of 788,524 TEUs. The robust numbers came through a combination of strong export volumes, a post Lunar New Year surge of cargo from Asia, and U.S. retailers shipping merchandise ahead of the new vessel alliance deployments that began this month. The Port of Virginia® reports container throughput this March at its Hampton Roads terminals reached 232,148 TEUs, an 8.9 percent increase from a year ago.  The year-to-date total of 681,042 TEUs, up 8.2 from January-March 2016, set a first quarter record for the Virginia port.

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners voted at a meeting on April 14 to name Mario Cordero, a former chairman and current member of the Federal Maritime Commission, to be the next executive director of the Port of Long Beach. Allen Bodechon was recently appointed to a three-year term on the board of directors of Port Saint John by the provincial government of New Brunswick.