b'10American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comTop 20 North American portsTop 20 North AmericanContainer PortsBy George Lauriat, AJOTThe Top 20 North Amer- can continent have added miles,20222023icanPortschartsareevalu- time,andcosttoboxshipRankPortState TEUSTEUSData/DateatedbytonnageandTEUs.transits from Asia to Europe.1Port of Los AngelesCA9,911,1597,887,162Jan-NovThe principal reason for thisThediversionshavealso2Port of New York/New JerseyNY/NJ9,493,6647,176,126Jan-Novapproachisreflectedintheturned the Mediterranean into3Port of Long BeachCA9,133,6577,308,848Jan-Novnature of trade itself in Northan inland sea and cut the US4Port of Savannah (Georgia Ports)GA5,892,1314,506,367Jan-NovAmerica. In most cases, portsEast Coast off from the trans- 5Port of Houston TX3,974,9013,499,580Jan-Novare measured by the numberAtlantic loops that connected6Port of Virginia VA3,703,2301,131,450Jan-Mayof containers they handle. TheEuropetoAsiathroughthe7Port of VancouverBC-CA3,557,2941,554,905Jan-JunportsofLosAngeles,NewMediterranean.Orinthe8Port of Seattle-Tacoma (NWSA)WA3,384,0182,711,245Jan-NovYork/NewJerseyandLongcaseofNorthAmerica,re- 9Port of CharlestonSC2,792,3132,274,586Jan-NovBeach have long been the topemphasizedusingtheconti-10Port of OaklandCA2,337,1251,889,697Jan-Novthree. In 2022 the Port of Newnents West Coast ports. And 11Port of Montreal QUE-CA1,722,704 1,402,608 Jan-NovYork/NewJerseytookoversimilarly,tothe2015period the second spot but in 2023 theoflaborunrestontheWest 12Port of HonoluluHI1,500,000N.A.FY 2021Port of Long Beach regainedCoast,thereisthepossibil-13Port of JacksonvilleFL 1,313,487 N.A.Fiscal Year 2023the number two position. Thisityofwaterfrontlabordis-14Port of MiamiFL1,098,332N.A.Fiscal Year 2023flipflopinportpositionisruptions on the East Coast in 15Port of BaltimoreMD1,069,421N.A.representative of some overallOctoberjustpriortothe 16Port EvergladesFL1,013,159N.A.Fiscal Year 2023trends in ocean trades in NorthPresidential electionsas the 17Port of Prince RupertBC-CA1,000,000N.A.EstimateAmerica.Overall,containerInternational Longshoremens 18Port of New OrleansLA1,000,000N.A.Estimatethroughput in 2023 in NorthAssociation (ILA) negotiates 19Port of Philadelphia (PhilaPort)PA762,632N.A. Americaisslightlyofffrom(PORTScontinued on 20Port of HalifaxNS-CA 601,700409,436Jan-Sept2022, reflecting the flatteningpage 12)of demand. But there are other factors at play. Since the West Coast waterfront labor disrup-tions in 2015, there has been a slow but steady erosion of West Coast port market share. The East Coast ports like New York/NewJersey,Savannah, and Port of Virginia (Norfolk) andGulfportslikeHouston benefitedfromanexpanded Panama Canal and Southeast AsianandIndianSubconti-nenttradevolumesmoving through the Suez Canal, espe-cially during the post COVID-19 boom. A great example of theimpactistheTEUvol-umesinPortofNewYork/NewJerseyin2020-2022 period.In2020ThePortof NY/NJhandled7,585,819 TEUs.Thistallyrosea remarkable 18.5% in 2021 to 8,985,931TEUandanother 5.7%in2022to9,493,664 TEU, which vaulted it to the number two ranking container port in the US.Anotherfactorinthe shifttotheEastCoastand Gulfportswasinvestment. With the promise of greater boxvolumescamemore investmentsinEastCoast and Gulf ports enabling the ports to handle greater vol-umes more efficiently.t hep ortF lipF lopFast forward to 2023 and 2024.Thereareproblems withthePanamaCanallow waterlevelsandprolonged drought,coupledwiththe HouthisattacksintheRed Seathathasallbutclosed the Suez Canal to ship traffic and has forced containership operatorstodiverttomuch longeralternativeroutes. (see Stuart Todd article, page 6,TrucknetsetsupGulf-Israel/Egyptlandbridge) Atthiswriting,thePanama Canal low water situation has forcedtheCanalauthorities to announce a cut in transits of 36% on January 17, 2024, even as ship traffic jam grows at the entrances.Diversions around the Afri-'