SIMIC

THE Port of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) once again claims the title as the busiest container port in the United States, surpassing the volumes of rivals Los Angeles and Long Beach, reports Fort Lauderdale's Maritime Executive.
"The Port of New York and New Jersey is again No 1 in the nation," said port authority chairman Kevin O'Toole.
"After years of unprecedented cargo growth, we are using this traditionally slow period to work with our port stakeholders who need to increase capacity throughout the regional supply chain," he said.
Data released by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey shows the combined port handled 571,177 TEU during February, traditionally the slowest time of the year for all US ports due to overseas production slowdowns and closures related to Chinese New Year.
Import volume was down by a quarter year on year during February with the port moving 288,314 TEU loaded imports arriving at the terminals while exports were down only five per cent versus 2022 with the port handling 98,692 TEU loaded exports.
The volume was the highest in the US, exceeding the Port of Los Angeles by more than 83,000 TEU and the Port of Long Beach by more than 27,000 TEU, said the report.
PANYNJ exceeded the volume in Los Angeles both for loaded imports and exports and after the first two months of the year is slightly ahead on a year-to-date cumulative basis with a total of 1,216,607 TEU versus Los Angeles' 1,213,860 TEU.
Los Angeles's volume was down 30 per cent in January and February versus a 20 per cent year-to-date decline in NYNJ.
It is also not the first time the Port of New York and New Jersey has recently claimed the title of the busiest seaport in the US. For months from August through November 2022, the port exceeded its rivals in volume.
In August and September, NYNJ handled more than 840,000 TEUs per month while it declined to 792,548 in October and 723,069 in November.
Said Mr O'Toole: "We expect a stronger second half of the year, as we have been in discussions with many importers that shifted volume to us from elsewhere and are now committed to keeping that volume in our gateway."
One of the steps that the Port Authority has been taking to improve operations during this period is aggressively clearing out its empty container inventory.
So far this year they note empties removal has reached 390,000 TEU. Port officials highlight that the evacuation of empty containers helps improve seaport operations and fluidity by ensuring more container terminal space for imports to be processed quickly at the port in the future.