Further, in addition to overall cargo increases in broad categories such as containers, breakbulk, liquid bulk, etc., for the first time in recent history every major cargo category that the statistical process counts, which includes containers, steel, forest products, cocoa beans, project cargo, ro/ro, liquid bulk, and other/miscellaneous cargoes, all showed increases, with no exceptions.
“Our latest cargo figures are gratifying to see,” said PRPA Chairman Jerry Sweeney, who was appointed Chairman of thePRPA Board by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf earlier this year. “Not only do they once again show healthy gains when comparing the same periods of this year and last year, but they also show, for the first time in a long while, that all cargo sectors showed growth, not just some or even most. This is truly a testament to our terminal operators, the= logistics industry that surrounds them, our dedicated labor force, and our staff at PRPA, all of whom work together to make this port as efficient and successful as it can be.”
Containers showed healthy gains in the first quarter when counted either as TEU’s or tonnage. 100,203 TEU’s were handled during the first quarter of 2015 compared to the 97,922 TEU’s handled during the same period of 2014, a 2.33 percent gain. Counted as tonnage, 684,360 metric tons of containerized cargo was moved during January-March 2015 compared to the 646,621 metric tons moved during that same period of 2014, resulting in a 5.84 percent gain.
The across-the-board increases in all breakbulk cargo categories are as follows: steel was up 1.22 percent, with 105,398 metric tons handled; fruit was up 16.68 percent, with 66,390 tons handled; forest products were up 34.98 percent, with 162,879 tons handled; cocoa beans were up 18.98 percent, with 45,859 tons handled; project cargo was up 21.69 percent, with 11,380 tons handled, and other/miscellaneous cargoes were up 975.65 percent, with 2,076 metric tons handled.
In the ro/ro category, which is primarily made up of the Port’s automobile cargoes (principally Hyundai and Kia automobiles that arrive in South Philadelphia for ultimate distribution to dealerships throughout the U.S.), cargoes were up when counted either as individual units or tonnage. 36,683 automobiles were moved during the first quarter of this year, a 2.31 percent increase over the same period last year. Counted as tonnage, 54,923 metric tons of automobiles were moved, a 10.58 percent increase.
In the liquid bulk category, the 338,748 metric tons of liquid bulk cargoes handled during the first quarter represented a 1.54 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
These current cargo increases, which continue a trend of growth that began over five years ago, are occurring during an exciting time for the Port of Philadelphia, as the Port’s 45-foot Main Channel Deepening project nears completion, and the PRPA Board of Directors is overseeing the advancement of the Port’s Southport Project, which will result in one or more major new maritime operations in South Philadelphia, the first entirely new operations added to the Port in more than a generation.
The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority is an independent agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania charged with the management, maintenance, marketing, and promotion of publicly owned port facilities along the Delaware River in Philadelphia, as well as strategic planning in the port district. PRPA works with its terminal operators to modernize, expand, and improve its facilities, and to market those facilities to prospective port users. Port cargoes and the activities they generate are responsible for thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the Philadelphia area and throughout Pennsylvania, as well as numerous other economic benefits.