No, we don’t ever get tired of writing about the astonishing growth of our local Port of Virginia. Here we are, again in another January, reporting back the incredible numbers posted for 2018. While this isn’t a fiscal year list of growth (which we will see in July) the regular check-ups are a solid way to monitor how port traffic impacts our local economy and provides a snapshot of the ocean logistics profession as it currently stands.
According to information published in the AJOT, the Port of Virginia handled 2.85 million TEUs through the calendar year of 2018, a .5% increase over the 2017 total, including growth of 1.2% in breakbulk cargo, and increases in both truck and barge traffic that is handled by VIT and the Richmond Marine Terminal. With regard to the local economy, the Port of Virginia helped to generate 3,100 new jobs and 1.9 million square feet of space of developing services. The initial investment, construction and expansion ahead of the release of post-Panamax vessels carried through 2017. Being in the right place was only part of the planning; the dredging and infrastructure upgrades allowed the port to remain in the prime east coast location even as fewer ships called the port, a reduction of almost 5% in 2017 under 2016. However, the port could service massive ships with more cargo instead of the plethora of smaller ships holding half to a third the cargo.
“We cannot always measure success in terms of cargo volume. It was a landmark year for The Port of Virginia and we look at 2018 as a year of accomplishments. Each month we saw new equipment being delivered, new capacity coming on line, the incorporation of technology and projects like Wider, Deeper, Safer getting the necessary federal approval to move forward. Equally as important is that we were safe in the execution of our jobs. ” Credit for quote to American Journal of Transportation 1/14/2019
Further to the the information available, AJOT created a month-by-month review of how the Port of Virginia steadily built and upgraded its services to capitalize on the larger cargo carriers. We recommend all our readers check out their coverage and information to see the services unfold monthly.
To answer any questions about the Port of Virginia and how Nelson International can work with your cargo needs to provide excellent routing we ask you to reach out to your representative. However, we will remind you that we do not ever get tired of writing about how improvements to the logistics infrastructure improves overall cargo shipping, local economies and safety for cargo workers. Congratulations, again, and we look forward to seeing the fiscal year numbers coming in July.
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