Import volumes at major container ports are expected to continue their recent growth throughout the second quarter of 2017 thanks to an improving national economy, according to the latest monthly Global Port Tracker report by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates. Major container ports handled 18.8 million TEUs for the full year in 2016, up 3.2 percent from 2015.
A snapshot of some of the key ports in the nation demonstrates the increasing volumes of containers handled:
Jacksonville During the first six months of fiscal year 2017, Jaxport recorded 13 percent growth in Asian container shipments over the same period last year, moving 178,249 TEUs compared to 157,689 TEUs during the same period in FY2016. Jaxport’s fiscal year runs October 1 through to September 30.
The Asian container trade is the fastest growing segment of Jaxport’s container cargo business, accounting for 36 percent of the business in the first six months of FY2017, up from 33 percent the same period in FY2016 and just seven percent in FY2014. The port has recorded an average of 21 percent annual growth in Asian container volumes during the past five years.
