Port of New York and New Jersey Holds Lead as Busiest U.S. Port in November

The Port of New and New Jersey ranked as the busiest port in the United States for a fourth month in a row in November.

The port reported handling 723,069 TEUs last month, marking a 4.8% decline from the same month in 2021 but an impressive 20.6% jump compared to before the pandemic in November 2019.

Although the Port of New York and New Jersey does not report its imports/exports/empties breakdown, industry veteran John McCown has tallied the port’s November import volume at 333,499 TEUs, down 12.7% compared to November 2021, while exports rose 1.5% to 119,927 TEUs.

The Port of New York and New Jersey first overtook the Port Los Angeles as the nation’s busiest port in August and has maintained its lead ever since. Like other East and Gulf Coast ports, New York and New Jersey has benefited from shifting trade away from the U.S. West Coast where labor negotiations for more than 22,000 dockworkers continue past the previous contract’s expiration.

Looking at consecutive monthly volumes, November’s cargo volume decreased by 8.6% compared to October 2022, when the port handled 792,548 TEUs.

Overall, U.S. imports fell 19.4% year over year in November, reflecting the slowdown in consumer demand, according to logistics technology firm Descartes Systems Group (Nasdaq: DSGX).

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