NEWS |
150-98: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE , November 5, 1998
North Atlantic market share rose by a full 1 percent, Mr. Boyle announced. Both imports and exports through New York/New Jersey showed healthy increases, with volumes of containerized cargo increasing 10.7 percent over the same period one year ago. The dollar value of vessel shipments for the first six months of 1998 grew 4.4 percent to some $35.3 billion.
"The Port of New York and New Jersey is stronger than it has been in decades. It is now the most competitive option for reaching the U.S. Midwest market, in addition to its historic role as gateway to the enormous New York regional marketplace," Mr. Boyle said. "Our ability to achieve double-digit growth in tonnage against a backdrop of global economic uncertainty shows that our marketing programs are getting results. But even more, it shows that shippers, both here and abroad, are recognizing our lowered costs and improved productivity, and trust us to meet the challenge of keeping this harbor navigable by modern containerships."
Bucking a national trend, the value of exports from the Port rose 4.6 percent to $10.6 billion for the first six months of this year, compared to a decline for the U.S. of 7.5 percent to $104 billion. In volume terms, exports of containerized cargo from the Port rose 4.7 percent during the first half of 1998, while containerized imports through New York and New Jersey increased 14.8 percent.
Lillian C. Borrone, Director of Port Commerce for the Port Authority, said, "Our strategy has been to target specific commodities and trade lanes for growth. We are especially pleased with the increasing amounts of U.S. Midwest cargo moving through our ExpressRail on-dock rail terminal, and our ability to capture key commodities like autos and auto parts, cocoa beans, bananas, and footwear."
The Port of New York and New Jersey handled 919,611 loaded 20-foot equivalent (container) units, or TEUs, during the first half of 1998. The figure was up from 830,858 loaded TEUs during the same period in 1997, based on figures supplied by the Journal of Commerce's PIERS cargo tracking service.
As a result, the port's share of the domestic North Atlantic market increased from 53.8 percent to 54.8 percent.
Europe, the port's largest trading partner, displayed growth in both imports and exports. As expected, the Asian economic crisis resulted in an increase in container imports from Asia, while overall exports to Asia declined. China was an exception -- imports were up 18 percent and exports grew 29 percent during this period. "We have high hopes for Asian trade -- particularly trade with China -- as we move into the future," Mrs. Borrone said. "By marketing our port aggressively, we expect to capture a larger share of the U.S.-Asian trade through direct all-water routes via the Suez Canal. Even a slight shift in U.S.-Asian trade toward the North Atlantic will reap tremendous benefits for our port -- and result in quick transit times at lower costs for international shippers."
The New York-New Jersey port also was able to increase significantly its share of international cargo moving to and from the Midwest -- from 32 percent in the first half of 1997 to 38 percent during the same period this year. "The Midwestern cargo was attracted by the combination of a more productive work force, reduced assessment costs, and investments in deeper berths -- 45 feet in several locations -- and on-dock rail," Mrs. Borrone said.
Among the commodities the port has targeted for growth, several showed considerable increases during the first half of the year:
--> Auto parts and vehicles - export tonnage increased 51 percent; North Atlantic market share rose from 35 to 49 percent. In all, 48,208 vehicles were exported from January to June.
--> Miscellaneous food and food preparations - export tonnage increased 18.8 percent; market share rose from 64.7 to 68.2 percent.
--> Alcoholic beverages - export tonnage gained 68.5 percent; market share rose from 16.7 percent to 29.4 percent.
--> Photo supplies - exports went up 26 percent; market share grew from 62.8 to 71.8 percent.
--> Cocoa beans - import tonnage increased 37 percent; market share grew from 48 to 54 percent.
--> Bananas - import tonnage gained 11 percent; market share increased from 15 to 18 percent.
--> Footwear - import tonnage increased 10 percent; share grew from 59 to 61 percent.
--> Auto parts -- import tonnage increased 20 percent; share increased from 35 to 37 percent.
ExpressRail, the Port Authority's on-dock rail container terminal in Elizabeth, N.J., increased its traffic by 22 percent in the first half of 1998, continuing its double-digit growth of the previous year. The terminal moved almost 74,000 containers during the first six months of the year. "The efforts of our entire port community are reflected in the market's strong support of our port in the midst of intense competition," Mrs. Borrone said.
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