“Port of NY & NJ sees record cargo volumes, plans for future growth”
In November, cargo volumes at the Port of New York and New Jersey were 7.5% higher than in November 2019, before COVID-19. However, they were down 11% year-over-year and 13.2% from October. The East Coast seaport moved 644,439 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in November, compared to 723,069 TEUs in November 2022. Year-to-date volumes for loaded containers were over 4.8 million TEUs in November, making the port the nation’s second busiest for loaded containers. Total year-to-date volumes were nearly 7.2 million TEUs through November, up 4.2% from the same period in 2019.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is investing in road and rail capital projects to boost capacity at the port. They recently announced a $220 million project to upgrade roads and ramps to the main artery at Port Newark, a container terminal that processes over 1.3 million TEUs annually. The project aims to add 1 million more TEUs in capacity at Port Newark. Construction work on the Port Street Corridor Improvement project is set to begin, with completion expected in 2028. This project will redesign and rebuild Port Newark’s northern entrance, providing a more efficient roadway configuration and wider turning radius for safer trucking operations.
The port authority also plans to upgrade the on-dock ExpressRail system to streamline train movements and reduce congestion during peak hours. These improvements are part of the port’s master plan to increase capacity in order to handle a forecasted doubling or tripling of cargo volume by 2050. These investments aim to enhance efficiency, reliability, and reduce carbon emissions across the supply chain.
