Port of NY and NJ starts year as top box port in U.S.

Photograph: Port of New York and New Jersey/CMA CGM

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says that the Port of New York and New Jersey moved the most cargo of any port in the U.S. in February 2023 and year-to-date in 2023.

In February, traditionally the slowest time of the year for all U.S. ports due to overseas production slowdowns and closures related to the Lunar New Year holiday, the port remained busy by moving 571,177 TEU the highest amount of cargo among peer ports, exceeding the Port of Los Angeles by more than 83,000 TEU and exceeding the Port of Long Beach by more than 27,000 TEU. The container port’s status as America’s busiesr comes after it was the second-busiest in the month of January, moving 645,430 TEU.

For the first two months of 2023, the port also was the busiest in the nation after moving a total of 1,216,607 TEUs. In particular, the port has been aggressively clearing out its empty container inventory with the removal of more than 390,000 TEUs so far this year. This 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.

“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. 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.”

“The Port of New York and New Jersey’s return to the top spot as the nation’s busiest demonstrates the port’s continued reliability and consistency as other ports experienced uncertainty and challenges recently,” said Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton. “Shippers and retailers know they can rely on the Port of New York and New Jersey to move their cargo quickly month-in and month-out, and that trust is a result of our deep relationships and collaboration with all links in the regional supply chain.”

The Port of New York and New Jersey was previously the busiest container port in the U.S. for four months from August through November 2022. In 2022, the port handled a total of nearly 9.5 million TEU its highest annual amount of cargo in its history.

For more information on the port’s cargo volumes, including historic data, click HERE.