The Port of Virginia® moved 232,148 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in March, placing it among the most productive months in the port’s history.
The continued growth comes as the port is preparing for the arrival of the COSCO Development, the biggest ship ever to call Virginia and the U.S. East Coast. The ship is scheduled to transit the Panama Canal make its first U.S. East Coast port stop on May 8 at Virginia International Gateway, where an estimated 4,000 cargo containers will be moved to and from the ship — an amount that is nearly triple the normal number of moves.
“March was the fourth busiest month in our history and our growth was 9 percent when compared with last March,” said John F. Reinhart, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority. “We are expecting volume to remain in positive territory as we move into spring and look forward to peak season. The new ocean-carrier alliances will be fully operational this month (April) and we will be seeing more big ships, like the COSCO Development, moving considerable amounts of cargo. As these ships arrive, planning and preparation are going to be paramount to our efficiency.”
March Cargo Snapshot*
- Loaded Export TEUs – 92,384 up 3%
- Loaded Import TEUs – 99,665 up 9.5%
- Containers – 131,800, up 9%
- Rail Containers – 48,206, up 3%
- Barge Containers – up 4,249, up 30%
- Truck Containers – 79,345, up 12%
- Richmond Marine Terminal Containers – 2,027, down 2%
Source: Port of Virginia