Port of New York and New Jersey Kicks off 2024 Strong

The Port of New York and New Jersey began 2024 on a high note with a notable increase in container volume and a significant boost in auto numbers.

Container volume in January 2024 reached 667,346 TEUs, marking a 3.4 percent increase from the previous year.

There was also significant surge in the movement of autos, with a substantial 22.1 percent increase compared to January 2023. This translates to 35,302 autos moved through the port in January 2024.

The port earned the title of the second busiest in the country for loaded imports and exports in January 2024, handling a substantial 447,514 loaded TEUs, a 2.6 percent rise from January 2023.

Import container volumes rose by 5.8 percent in January 2024 compared to the previous year, with 342,790 TEUs imported in contrast to 323,981 TEUs in January 2023. Import empties also saw a sizeable increase of 27.1 percent compared to 2023.

Exports, however, saw a decrease of 6.7 percent compared to January 2023, with 104,724 TEUs registered in January 2024 against 112,269 TEUs in January 2023. Export empties saw a modest increase of 4.9 percent, with a total of 217,878 TEUs.

Rail volume saw a minor decrease of 1.3 percent compared to the previous year, with a total of 53,013 containers.

The Port of New York and New Jersey concluded 2023 with container volume totals surpassing pre-COVID numbers from 2019 by 4.4 percent. This brought the port’s total for 2023 to 7,810,005 TEUs.

In 2023, the port was the second busiest in the nation for loaded imports and exports, handling 5.3 million loaded TEUs. However, total imports for 2023 saw a 16.9 percent decrease compared to 2022 and exported loads also witnessed a slight decrease of 1.1 percent from 2022.

Despite global supply chain challenges, U.S. container import volumes are off to a strong start in 2024, with top U.S. ports handling 1.96 million TEU in January, an 8.6% increase year over year, according to the National Retail Federation’s Global Port Tracker. February is projected at 1.9 million TEU, a 22.7% increase year over year.

“U.S. retailers are working to mitigate the impact of delays and increased costs,” said Jonathan Gold, Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy at the NRF. “However, the longer the disruptions occur, the bigger impact this could have. More needs to be done among partners and allies to ensure the safety of vessels and crews in order to avoid yet another year of supply chain disruption,” he added, referring to Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

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