The Alabama Port Authority has announced July 2022 was its busiest month ever for containerised cargo, breaking the 50,000 TEU mark for the first time since container port operations began in 2008.
In a year-over-year comparison, July’s figures reflect a growth rate of 184.7% for intermodal cargo and 35.8% for dry and reefer containers.
Port Authority director and CEO, John C. Driscoll, commented, “This growth shows that Mobile is a top choice for shippers looking to avoid congestion and delays as they move their cargo quickly and efficiently. As we look ahead to increased capacity and a deeper, wider ship channel, the Port of Mobile will keep building on this success for the state.”
July is the US port’s seventh consecutive month to post double and triple-digit growth for overall throughput volume and intermodal rail volume, respectively. The total number of containers handled at the Port of Mobile through July hit 316,473 TEUs, a 12.4% increase over 2021.
The Alabama Port Authority is on track to surpass 500,000 TEU in 2022, according to the port’s data.
In the meantime, a recent expansion deal signed by the Alabama Port Authority and APM Terminals will double the terminal’s throughput to one million TEU in 2025. At full build-out, the facility is projected to handle 2.5 million TEU.
Another key project coming online in 2025 is the deepening and widening of the Mobile ship channel once complete, the 50-foot draft federal channel will make the Port of Mobile the deepest container port in the Gulf of Mexico and will allow vessels up to 14,000 TEU to fully load.
