Double-digit increases for container volume, autos and record-breaking month for rail at the Port of NY & NJ

The Port of New York and New Jersey had another strong month in April, posting double-digit increases for total container volume, container imports, and autos and setting a new April record for rail volume. Total volume in April was 712,799 TEUs (396,168 lifts) versus 559,929 TEUs (318,389 lifts) in April 2020, a 27.3 percent increase and record for the month of April.. This surge brings our year through April total to 2,848,979 TEUs (1,581,682 lifts). 

Imports rose by 26.5 percent in April, totaling 359,265 TEUs (200,112 lifts) compared to 284,074 TEUs (161,677 lifts) in April 2020. From January through April, imports at the Port of New York and New Jersey reached 1,457,992 TEUs (811,066 lifts), a 23.7 percent increase compared to the 1,178,673 TEUs (667,626 lifts) posted in the same period of 2020 which was the start of COVID-19 pandemic.

Exports at the Port of New York and New Jersey in April totaled 121,671 TEUs (65,885 lifts), a 25 percent increase compared to the 97,312 TEUs (53,628 lifts) recorded in April 2020. From January through April, exported loads reached 451,806 TEUs (246,111 lifts) versus 466,381 TEUs (257,252 lifts) in the same period of 2020, a 3.1 percent decrease.

Export empties increased by 29.4 percent in April, totaling 229,295 TEUs compared to 177,254 TEUs in April 2020. From January through April, export empties at the Port of New York and New Jersey reached 930,302 TEUs versus 665,412 TEUs in the same period of 2020, an increase of 39.8 percent. Import empties rose by 37.9 percent from January through April versus the same period in 2020.

Rail volume set a record high for the month of April, totaling 63,896 containers, an increase of 13.1 percent from the previous year’s April figure. Total rail volume for the year through April is 5.8 percent greater than the same period in 2020.

Auto volume also posted double-digit increases in April. A total of 43,036 autos moved through the Port of New York and New Jersey in April, a rise of 30.8 percent compared to April 2020. Auto volume for the year is 15.7 percent greater than the same period of 2020.