Most notably, the port handled 2,105,887 TEUs, an increase of 9.8 percent when compared with 2011; only 22,479 TEUS separated 2012 from 2007, which is the port’s best year on record for TEUs.
“The Port of Virginia posted an 18.9 percent increase in containers and a 20.4 percent increase in TEUs handled in December 2012 compared to 2011,” said Rodney W. Oliver, the Virginia Port Authority’s interim executive director. “That made the sixth month in 2012 in which the port recorded a double-digit monthly increase year-over-year and the eleventh consecutive month of positive growth year-over-year in these two categories.”
The 2012 cargo total and the percentage of increase over 2011 are:
• TEUs: 2,105,887, up 9.8%
• Containers: 1,209,822, up 9.8%
• General Cargo Tonnage: 17,513,093, up 12.1%
• Total Rail Containers: 385,804, up 16.8 %
• Barge Containers: 8,009, up 82.5%
• Ship Calls: 1,963, up 7.4%
• Vehicle Units: 40,031, up 28.5%
“I’m extremely proud of what we accomplished in 2012,” Oliver said. “We had two near strikes, Superstorm Sandy, diverted cargo and several other projects that required our immediate attention throughout the year. With all of those distractions we performed admirably and everyone should be proud.”
The port’s strong performance throughout the year was capped-off by a busy December. In that month the port handled 185,750 TEUs, an increase of 20.4 percent when compared with totals from the same month in 2011. The month's container total was 106,005 units and the general cargo tonnage (figure includes container and breakbulk) was 1,545,673 short tons. Total rail containers handled in December were 34,276, which is an 18.8 percent increase when compared with the same month in 2011.
The number of containers moved between the Port of Richmond and the Hampton Roads Harbor on the 64 Express barge service in December.
