“Two back-to-back record-setting years is a testament to the hard work of our customers and terminal operators,” said Port President and CEO Gary LaGrange. “Our volumes are attributed to a strong export market, particularly chemicals and agricultural products; coffee and apparel were strong commodities on the inbound side.”
The Port also added a new Latin American container service in 2011 and a new container carrier, as CMA CGM returned to the Port. The shipping line joins Mediterranean Shipping Company, Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk, Seaboard Marine and CSAV in serving the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal.
New Orleans Terminal and Ports America jointly operate the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal.
An expansion is underway throughout the terminal, as the Port invested $38 million in 2011 alone into the facility, including the delivery of two new container gantry cranes and the addition of more than four acres to the terminal’s marshalling yard. Both projects increase efficiencies and terminal capacity.
In December, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation John Porcari awarded the Port a $16.7 million federal grant to build the Mississippi River Intermodal Terminal – a specialized, 12 acre freight rail yard on the terminal - which will capitalize on New Orleans’ unmatched rail access to six Class One railroads.
“We continue to reap the benefits of investments we have made at the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal,” LaGrange said. “We will continue to work hard to stay a few steps ahead of the market’s demand as the container trade grows in the Gulf of Mexico.”
