Box volumes are surging this fall at the Port of Virginia, processing more than 318,000 TEU in October, marking a new single-month volume record.
October was the third consecutive month of TEU volumes in excess of 305,000 units. “This is a strong run of volume and our operation, the team behind it and our labor partners are performing at a very high level,” said Stephen A. Edwards, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority.
He went on to comment, “We are handling record volumes with no congestion issues. The productivity at our berths, gates and rail ramps is exceptional right now and we are delivering real value to our customers.”
Since August, the port has processed 444,600-loaded import TEU, which is an increase of 19% when compared with last year, while export loads totaled 254,600 TEU, an increase of nearly 9%.
“We are growing in multiple areas and the key to continuing this trend is to emphasize delivery of service and market the port for its all of its capabilities,” added Edwards. “There is no congestion here and the industry is taking note of our effort to ensure consistency across the operation.”
With two reporting months left in 2021, the port’s TEU volume is 2.9 million TEU, an increase of 633,403 units (+28%) compared with the same period last year.
“We don’t foresee a slowdown because the long-term challenges to the supply chain are going to be there for some time,” noted Edwards, who went on to point out, “What we are seeing are more and more cargo owners working with their ocean carriers to diversify their supply chains and The Port of Virginia is very high on their list of considerations.”
