Containerised tonnage grew by 8.3 percent compared to March 2011, for an increase of 155,308 tons. The total tonnage number beats the previous record set in October 2010, while the previous container tonnage record was set in April of last year.

“Record volumes for Georgia’s deepwater ports are good news for our region and its economic future,” said GPA Executive Director Curtis Foltz. “We are cautiously optimistic about continued market recovery that will spur additional manufacturing and distribution opportunities.”

For Fiscal Year 2012 through March, the GPA has handled 19.5 million tons of cargo, an increase of 280,035 tons over the same period in FY2011. Of that total, container traffic accounted for 16.5 million tons in 2.2 million twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), with an export to import ratio of 53.71 percent to 46.29 percent.

Total vessel calls across all terminals reached 203 in March, an increase of 20 over February’s 183 vessel calls.

In addition to its strong showing in containerized cargo tonnage, the GPA also noted continued growth in auto/machinery units. The March 2012 figure of 57,001 units constituted a 30 percent increase over the same month in 2011 (at 43,841 units), and a 79 percent increase over March 2010 (31,844). For the fiscal year to date, the Port of Brunswick has handled 388,192 units.

“The Port of Brunswick is the third busiest U.S. port for auto imports, behind only Los Angeles and Newark,” Foltz said. “Brunswick’s diverse carrier fleet, superior location and ample space provide the GPA’s automotive clients a vital link to Europe and other global markets.”

Virginia, for years, has been a regular stop for vessels from the CKYH alliance, which is composed Cosco, “K” Line, Yang Ming and Hanjin Shipping. Under the new rotation Virginia will be the last East Coast port call on the AWE-2 service and the vessel size calling Virginia on the AWE-5 service will be increased to 5,500 TEUs.

“The change provides an excellent opportunity to capture time-sensitive export cargo, giving Mid-Atlantic and Midwest-based exporters competitive transit times to North Asia,” said Jerry A. Bridges, executive director of the Virginia Port Authority. “This decision by CKYH and a move earlier this year by another ocean carrier to make Virginia a last-out call shows that these carriers have confidence in Virginia. Our deep water, terminals, rail connections and customer service all drive these kinds of decisions.”

On April 24, Cosco will join the AWE-5 service, which is currently operated by Hanjin Shipping and Yang Ming. At the end of April, the port rotations of the five all-water services will be as follows:

AWE-1: Consists of nine 4,000-TEU vessels that will call Qingdao, Ningbo, Shanghai, Pusan, New York, Wilmington (N.C.), Savannah, Pusan and back to Qingdao.

AWE-2: Consists of nine 4,500-TEU ships that will call Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Yokohama, New York, Boston, Norfolk and back to Qingdao.

AWE-3: Will deploy 4,250-TEU vessels and will call Hong Kong, Yantian, Kaohsiung, Shanghai, Pusan, Savannah, Charleston, Wilmington (NC) and back to Hong Kong.

AWE-4: Consists of 5,500-TEU ships that will call Ho Chi Minh City, Shekou, Hong Kong, Yantian, Singapore, Halifax, New York, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Savannah, Singapore and back to Ho Chi Minh City.

AWE-5: Will upgrade to nine 5,500-TEU vessels and call Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Yantian, Ho Chi Minh, Singapore, New York, Norfolk, Boston, Singapore and back to Kaohsiung.

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In results announced at today’s regular Board meeting, the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) handled 134,857 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the Port of Charleston in March, up 12 percent from the same month last year and up 13 percent from February.

“We continue to work hard to grow our cargo volumes above the market and attract new shipping services to our ports,” said Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the SCPA.

For the fiscal year to date (July through March), TEU volume was up just over two percent, while container volume for the quarter (January through March) increased seven percent from the same quarter last year. A number of drivers, including a new Europe service with APL, were said to be factors in this growth.

“There is no turning back on the big ship trend, and we’re seeing how harbor depth and access can influence carriers’ service decisions,” Newsome said, referring to Charleston’s deep shipping channels and post-45 harbor deepening project, which is currently underway.

At the same time, the SCPA’s non-containerized cargo figures remain strong, reflecting the agency’s cargo diversification strategy. The Port of Charleston handled 111,236 pier tons of non-containerized freight in March, up 53 percent from the same month last year.

BMW export vehicles and other roll-on/roll-off cargo handled at Charleston’s Columbus Street Terminal saw their best month since March 2008. The SCPA completed last year a $23-million improvement project at that terminal to support the growth of non-containerized cargo.

In the Port of Georgetown, pier tons were up 37 percent, with 34,119 tons handled across the docks last month. Petroleum coke and bulk cement are the largest commodities handled at the port.

The Port of Dalian is the sister port to Seattle. The delegation was hosted by the Port of Seattle Police, Seaport Security, Seaport Commercial Strategy, and Public Affairs. The purpose of the visit was to celebrate the five-year anniversary of our sister port relationship. In addition the delegation was given a tour and the ports discussed port security operations and management. China is the port’s number one trading partner and one of the top Chinese ports Seattle trades with.