In September, the port handled 215,520 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), an increase of 7.2 percent compared with the same month last year; it was the best cargo performance for September in the port’s history. In comparison with last September, rail units were up 16 percent, Virginia Inland Port (VIP) volume up 43 percent, truck volume up 2 percent and vehicle units up 133 percent. Moreover, September marks the seventh consecutive month of TEU volumes exceeding 210,000 units.

“We have brought stability and consistency to all phases of our operation and we are showing growth and positive financial results,” said John F. Reinhart, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority. “For the quarter, we had growth in rail containers, truck volume, VIP container volume percent, vehicle units and operating income, while improving service levels.

“This shows that the industry is responding: Our message that The Port of Virginia is an innovative, responsive and strategic operation is beginning to resonate. The port’s capital reinvestment program is just underway and we have a lot of work to do, but we have a clear path forward and we have the support of our labor partners, stakeholders and customers.”

The port’s consolidated financial performance in the first two months of the fiscal year (July/August) is positive as well: Total operating revenues are $80.5 million and the operating income is $3.5 million. The audited fiscal year 2015 results confirmed operating income of $13.6 million in, which is an improvement of $30.1 million when compared with the results from the previous fiscal year.

“Our improving financial picture will allow us to continue to reinvest in our facilities, our cargo conveyance equipment and our people,” Reinhart said. “We have turned the corner and we must stay focused. In the coming decade, we will need to reinvest $2 billion in The Port of Virginia to increase its capacity and ensure its competitive position on the US East Coast. The overall performance and result of fiscal year 2015 has cleared the way for this process to begin.”

Between January and September, it handled 109.873 TEU, while during the same period last year the volume was 94.218 TEU.

The company expects to exceed 140,000 TEU by the end of year, which would be a record for TCB Railway, exceeding last year’s figure by
approximately 10%. The company’s growth stems from offering tailor-made and high-quality services to its clients, who gain access to Spain’s inland markets thanks to dry ports and intermodal transport. The recovery in imports and exports is one of the factors behind the rise of this mode of transport of goods.

According to Xavier Moliné, General Manager of TCB Railway, “We base TCB Railway’s growth on staying in constant contact with customers, launching new projects, increasing train frequency and opening new markets and corridors in an effort to ensure maximum efficiency. This
explains TCB Railway’s sustained growth since its founding in 2006″.

The rail transport increases the Port of Barcelona’s hinterland thanks to corridors linking the Barcelona Container Terminal (TCB) with Zaragoza, Azuqueca (Guadalajara), Monzón (Huesca), Villafría (Burgos) and Vitoria (Álava). The company also plans to open up new corridors.

TCB Railway opened in 2006 with a service of two trains per week between TCB and Azuqueca. In 2007, it handled 11,743 TEU annually and
organised spot trains to Zaragoza, a service that would begin to grow from 2008 and whose importance would be decisive to reach 77,167 TEU in 2010. The corridor from Burgos to Vitoria was also expanded and services to Azuqueca and Lleida remained strong. In 2011, the Zaragoza corridor ranked highest in terms of TEU volume. Since 2012, when the TCB-Valladolid corridor was launched, the volume of TCB Railway movements exceeded 100,000 TEU. In fact, in 2014 the company broke its record at 130,708 TEU, a figure which the company expects to surpass this year with more than 140,000 TEU.