Projects part of a long-term strategy for the Port of Virginia.
The Port of Virginia is more than halfway through the massive $1.4 billion Gateway Investment Program (GIP), and its goal of becoming the most efficient port on the East Coast is within reach.
Earlier this year, the Port announced the completion of the $450 million Norfolk Harbor deepening and widening; it joins the $83 million expansion of its Central Rail Yard and a $220 million Portsmouth Marine Terminal heavy lift/project cargo conversion. A $650 million modernization of the North Berth is not far behind.
“This port is playing the long game: we understand that this additional capacity is not going to be needed — filled up — immediately. We embarked on the Gateway Investment Program because it was the right time to invest for the long-term. By making those investments now, we are able to tell the market with absolute confidence that 1) we are ready for the future and 2) you can grow your cargo volumes — or bring your big ships to Virginia — without concern for our capability or capacity,” said Joe Harris, senior director, media relations for the Virginia Port Authority (VPA) whose subsidiary - Virginia International Terminals (VIT) - handles the day-to-day operation of its marine and inland terminals.
Under the leadership of new CEO Sarah McCoy, a longtime VPA executive, Harris said the Port is preparing cargo requirements for the next decade and beyond.
The new dredging deepened the Sewell Point to Lambert Bend (SPLB) shipping channel in Norfolk Harbor to 55-feet, the Thimble Shoal Channel to 56-feet, and the Atlantic approach to 59-feet. It also widened portions of the channel to as much as 1,400-feet to allow two-way passage for ultra-large container vessels with capacities up to 24,000 TEUs. The port now operates 31 ship-to-shore cranes.
The Port’s multi-modal reach into the Midwest is growing too. In August, the Port added Indianapolis to its network of on-dock, double-stack rail service via CSX, expanding its reach into Midwest markets, including Detroit, Chicago, Kansas City, and Columbus.
Loaded Imports Up over 6%
The VPA’s most recent financial numbers reported at its last meeting:
According to unaudited FY2026 results, POV volume finished 1.6% below budget; however, operating revenue of $890.3 million was 3.8% above budget, and EBITDA of $286 million was 21.1% above budget. Operating income reached $67.3 million, compared with a budgeted $23.7 million. The Port reported a $573 million decrease in cash and cash equivalents in FY2026, compared with a $327.9 million increase in FY2025.
Cargo performance strengthened during the fourth quarter. Total TEUs increased 1.2% while loaded imports rose 6.1% and loaded exports increased 3.7%. Empty TEUs declined by 13.5%, while the aforementioned rail containers surged by 17.8%.
Virginia also gained ground against its major East Coast competitors during the first five months of calendar 2026. From January through May, the Port handled 1.13 million loaded TEUs, up 2.5% from the same period in 2025. Over the same period, loaded volume declined 1.6% at New York/New Jersey, 1.7% at Savannah, and 6.9% at Charleston, making Virginia the only one of the four ports in the comparison to record growth. The stronger calendar-year numbers showed improvement from the fiscal-year comparison.
Operating metrics are improving. In June, there were a total of 71,801 truck visits, with 88.3% completed in less than an hour and less than 1% taking more than two hours. Total rail containers were 73,131, up 30%, while rail-ready dwell was 50.4 hours and rail dwell was 72.3 hours. Net crane productivity was 33.9 moves per hour, up 0.7% but slightly below the Port’s goal of 35. The Port’s FY2026 lost-work-day rate finished at 0.83, better than its 0.91 goal and down 20.2% from FY2025.
North NIT Optimization Project
Meanwhile, work on the North NIT Optimization Project remained on schedule and on budget. At the time of the July board report, construction was 92.1% complete, and the overall project was 86.9% complete.
Harris acknowledged the POV challenges are similar to what most US ports face.
“Inconsistent trade policy and the impact it has across the industry, tariffs, geopolitical instability in certain areas, and the cost of building materials are all challenges,” he said. “...Generally speaking, the trade environment continues to be a challenge, but our cargo volumes, on a month-to-month basis, are regaining their consistency, and we are trending ahead of last year. This fall’s retail season looks promising, and given that, it is our belief that we will finish calendar 2026 ahead of last year.”
“There are a lot of assets we have that we can point to with consistency, scalability and speed to market being at the top of the list. We have built our operation to deliver a consistent product — experience — to our customers and port users. In turn, this drives an understanding of our capabilities and a confidence that we can (and will) meet expectations. Scalability is important because our operation is structured so that we can easily handle volume growth – and surges -- without an impact to performance. Or we can pull back in slower periods while maintaining efficiency. We are setting in place those systems that will allow us to grow for the next several decades. We are telling our customers, port users, BCOs, etc., that they can grow their volumes at POV without concern for our ability to meet their need. Speed to market means we have modern connections — road, rail, barge, vessel — to reach the world with consistency.”
Stakeholders are Bullish on the Port of Virginia’s Future
Yogi H. Singh, one of three managing partners at Richmond, VA-based 1850 Investments, said the firm continues to view the entire state of Virginia as primed for investment. In the past year, 1850 has acquired the assets of two Norfolk region heavy equipment leasing companies - Bass Crane and Hampton Roads Crane & Rigging - in part due to the expansion and success of the Port of Virginia.
“We entered the Hampton Roads market in Q4 of 2020 via our acquisitions of three temperature-controlled warehouses in Suffolk, Virginia. Those assets, along with the associated logistics and transportation assets, would become AgCold. Since acquiring Hampton Roads Crane & Rigging, 1850 Investments has more than 50 teammates working in the market every day,” Singh said. “Why does (the GIP) matter for our business? When the economy grows, the need for infrastructure grows with it. Roads get widened, bridges get built, and the power grid gets expanded. The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel expansion is one of the largest highway projects in Virginia history. Dominion Energy has raised its five-year capital plan to accommodate more power, not only for AI and data centers, but because the population is growing. All of that work needs reliable, safe lifting and rigging, and that is what the fleets and the teams at HRCR and Bass Crane do every day.... That kind of capability is what brings cargo owners, end users, and manufacturers to the region, and as they grow, so does their need for what Bass and HRCR do. HVAC units get installed, precast concrete gets set, machinery gets moved. All of it has to be done safely and on schedule.”
Ed O’Callaghan has been the owner and president of Audax Transportation Inc. /Century Express Virginia since 2007. They are a Norfolk-based trucking company servicing a 13-state region in and out of the Ports of Virginia. He said collaboration among Port of Virginia users is paramount.
“...Just a couple of years ago, before the channels were widened and deepened to 55 feet, it was strictly one ship at a time. Today, that non-stop two-way traffic keeps cargo moving faster and drives real cost savings for everyone across the supply chain. On the terminal side, collaboration is everything,” he said. “The Virginia Port Authority, Virginia International Terminals (the ports’ operating arm), and the motor carrier community keep up a steady, open dialogue so everyone’s voice is heard. The International Longshoremen’s Association is right there at the table with us, serving as a critical partner in keeping our harbor running smoothly. Virginia’s major investment in the Gateway Project is truly paying off—not just for our local maritime community, but for supply chains and consumers across the entire country.”
“Our local university, Old Dominion University, established the School of Supply Chain, Logistics, and Maritime Operations to help meet our future workforce needs. Across our marine terminals, shipbuilding and repair, ocean carriers, logistics providers, and offshore wind projects, our future workforce outlook is much brighter now,” O’Callaghan said.
For Mike Coleman, Chief Executive Officer of CV International and Capes Shipping Agencies, a family-owned global logistics and vessel agency service provider, the Port of Virginia is more efficient, in part, because of its ownership structure.
“...The port owns and operates its own container terminals, which sets it apart from landlord ports with a dozen different operators, and that structure lets Virginia execute a long-term capital plan without the usual coordination headaches,” Coleman said. “The completion and opening of the deepest commercial channel on the East Coast this year is one marker of that. But the real story is consistency: this port has kept investing through every cycle, and that’s exactly what companies planning their East Coast strategy need to consider...predictability is worth more to our clients than almost anything else. It’s the difference between a shipment that’s a non-event and one that blows up a production schedule. The infrastructure story and the service story are really the same story.”
Coleman serves on several maritime-related boards, including the Virginia Port Authority, the Virginia Maritime Association, and the Board for Branch Pilots.
“Every port is navigating a tough environment right now. Cargo volumes are harder to predict given tariff and trade policy shifts. Competition among East Coast ports means staying ahead requires continuing to invest, not just having invested once. And federal infrastructure funding is less certain than it’s been in a while. None of these challenges are unique to Virginia. It’s just the environment we’re all planning around, and none of it changes my confidence in the Port’s direction,” Coleman said, adding that investing in tools and people is key.
“We are continuing to build out our CVInsight (a cloud-based visibility and intelligence platform) technology stack, so our customers keep getting better visibility tools as their needs grow,” he said. “...At a port like Virginia, where vessel turns are getting faster and berth windows tighter, that visibility isn’t optional anymore. It’s what lets us tell a client’s warehouse exactly when a container hits the ground, so they can plan around it instead of reacting to it. Technology doesn’t replace the human side of this business in any segment of the supply chain. It frees our people to solve the problems that actually require judgment and relationships, not chasing and or validating status updates.”
David White, executive director of the Virginia Maritime Association, said he expects 2026 to end with nice growth over 2025. White said the logistics industry in general needs a stable trade policy.
“The industry broadly has been enduring a period of tariffs, inconsistent trade policy, and geopolitical instability. A more stable trade environment would create more certainty for businesses that might be in positions to increase their imports, exports, and capital investments that would generate more cargo activity. We have the capacity and efficiency of operations to handle those greater volumes,” White said. “(The Port of Virginia’s advantage is) customer service, efficiency of operations, and speed from sea buoy to the wharf, across the marine terminal, to the rail and truck gates and the docks of the BCO’s; all facilitated through a collaborative approach across industry partners.”
On October 13-15, VMA will host the VMA26 International Trade Symposium in Norfolk, VA. Now in its 23rd year, it is one of the East Coast’s premier conferences for shipping, ports, logistics, and trade. The theme this year is “Anchored,” focusing on the unsettled waters of global shipping, trade, and logistics as supply chains remain exposed to geopolitical disruption, shifting trade policies, evolving carrier dynamics, and ongoing pressure to balance cost, service, resilience, and sustainability. The event is expected to draw more than 1,500 attendees.
