(20-foot equivalent units) handled in 2011 represented a nearly 4 percent increase over 2010’s volumes.  Most major ports in the United States reported either stable cargo volumes or declines during the year. The Port of New York and New Jersey is the largest on the East Coast and the third largest in the country behind Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The port’s on-dock rail system – known as ExpressRail – also set a new record in 2011, handling 422,144 containers, or 12 percent more than in 2010. 

“These records demonstrate that despite these challenging economic times our commitment to establishing stronger import/export trade relations, retaining and attracting the highest quality operators and investing in state-of-the-art facilities with the latest technology is working,” said Port Authority Chairman David Samson.  “Over the coming years we will continue to make significant investments in our port related infrastructure—$1 billion for Raising the Roadway of the Bayonne Bridge, as well as port roadway improvements, harbor deepening and Express Rail—to ensure our continued status as an industry leader and primary source of jobs and economic activity for the region.”

“The port business is extremely competitive, and we continue to make our case to the shipping community that they should bring their business here,” said Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye. “The investments we made in the port’s infrastructure have paid dividends, and we will continue to demonstrate that our port is open for business and prepared to handle increasing volumes of cargo from around the world by making investments that provide a reasonable return to the Port Authority and the region in terms of new job creation and revenue generation.”

Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni said, “The Port Authority, under the leadership of Governor Christie and Governor Cuomo, continues to make necessary investments in our ports, and the numbers announced today offer further proof that we are moving in the right direction for the region.” 

During 2011, the Port of New York and New Jersey reported that loaded TEU imports rose 4 percent to 1,562,413, while loaded exports increased 6.6 percent to 918,316. The port now supports approximately 279,200 total jobs in New York and New Jersey, nearly $11.6 billion in personal income, more than $37.1 billion in business income, and almost $5.2 billion in total tax revenues, according to a 2011 report prepared by the New York Shipping Association.

With the steady rise in cargo volume, the Port Authority’s Board is continuing to invest in several critical port projects.

In December 2011, the Board authorized a $39 million dollar investment to design and reconstruct a section of Corbin Street along with the wharf and culvert at Berth 3 in Port Newark. This followed action to widen McLester Street in the Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal, and to widen and realign Port Street and Brewster Road.

Additionally, work continued on the 50-foot harbor deepening project, which is expected be completed to the terminals in Port Newark, Elizabeth and Port Jersey by the end of 2012 and to New York Container Terminal by 2014. These projects are all designed to provide unimpeded ocean and landside access capacity to and from the port for the expected future annual cargo growth.

The Port Authority continues engineering and design work on the plan to raise the roadbed of the Bayonne Bridge to accommodate new, larger post-Panamax vessels traveling to and from port terminals. Currently the bridge’s navigational clearance cannot accommodate the largest of these ships, which are expected to serve the port when the Panama Canal widening is complete. The agency has committed $1 billion toward this project.

This was underlined by the absolute records set for container volume, both in tonnage and in TEU. With a container freight volume of more than 105 million Antwerp is once more the second largest port in Europe.

Its very good cargo-generating capacity is of fundamental importance to Antwerp as a container port. It owes this ability above all to its central location, deep inland, which in many cases makes it the shortest link between producer and consumer. Consequently, a large proportion of its freight comes from the immediate hinterland. A further essential feature of Antwerp is that it is home to the largest integrated petrochemical cluster in Europe, creating further supply and demand for freight transport.

But what makes Antwerp really special is its multi-functional capability. For the customer it is important to have a port where all the various freight handling and servicing capabilities are to be found side by side. Handling, logistics and manufacturing are all equally important in our port. Finally, Antwerp is a multimodal hub where all consignments are able to find the right transport mode. The port and its hinterland are bound together by a dense network of road, rail and barge connections. This extensive multimodal capability and the location deep inland are important advantages for the further development of Antwerp as the second largest port in Europe and one of the most sustainable ports in the Hamburg – Le Havre range.

The agency posted a net operating income of just over $215 million, four percent higher than forecasted in the budget, with overall costs coming in under budget.  Commissioners and CEO Tay Yoshitani credit a continued emphasis on cost control, increased efficiencies throughout the organization, and strong performances by the operating divisions with keeping the port on solid financial footing.

“The best measure of an organization’s fiscal responsibility is how we manage financial resources when times are tough,” said Commission President Gael Tarleton. “The commission is responsible for stewarding public resources so that we can continue to invest in job creation and environmental programs, and we can only do that by managing the bottom line.”

CEO Yoshitani moved quickly in 2008 and again in early 2009 to impose strict cost cutting throughout the port and implementing zero-based budgeting, maintaining that discipline to ensure fiscal stability.

“We know that the port must keep our financial house in order so that we can continue our role as a vital economic engine for the region,” said Yoshitani. “We’re pleased with these results, but the attention to controlling costs, particularly health care costs, must continue.  My sincere thanks to the staff for the hard work they’ve done to serve both our customers and the people of King County.”

Today’s announcement comes on the heels of other actions that highlight fiscal responsibility.  Taking advantage of lower interest rates and credit rating upgrades, the port has refinanced several bond issues, achieving savings of just over $ 150 million since 2010.  The agency has increased cash reserves and established a Transportation and Infrastructure Fund to meet future obligations for several key transportation infrastructure projects.

Once the project is completed, it may further reduce the number of shipments from Jakarta that head to Singapore before going to other destinations, Richard said. 

The government plans to give Pelindo II the contract to build three container terminals and two fuel depots in North Kalibaru, part of the Tanjung Priok port, after the prequalification tender process involving five private bidders was scrapped in January. 

The area surrounding the new facilities will be renamed “New Priok.” The total investment in construction was estimated by Richard at between Rp 16.5 trillion and Rp 17 trillion. 

Richard said recently that New Priok will increase Tanjung Priok’s overall container handling capacity to 11 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2017 from 5.9 million TEU last year. The first container terminal is expected to start operating in 2014. 

Recent improvements and expansion at Tanjung Priok port, Richard said, had reduced shipments to Singapore from Jakarta to just 18 percent of total traffic of goods that passed through Tanjung Priok, from 70 percent in 2008. 

It has been common practice by international traders in the past to use ports in Indonesia, including Tanjung Priok, as feeders for Singapore, a global hub for cargo. 

Poor infrastructure, which has caused rising costs for the distribution of goods in the archipelago nation, has been blamed for modest economic growth and deterring foreign investment. 

The government is undertaking a plan to build more ports to boost economic growth. 

In the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index, which rates countries’ systems for the distribution of goods, Indonesia ranked 75th out of 183 countries in 2010.