The Port of Virginia experienced an 8.6 percent increased in container volumes last year to 1.9 million TEUS, and overall tonnage grew 2.8 percent to 15.3 million short tons from the 2009 level, the Virginia Port Authority said late last month.
The port hit its peak in 2007 when container volumes reached 2.13 million TEUs.
By comparison, the Port of Savannah in Georgia recorded a 20 percent gain in container volume last year, reaching a historic high of 2.83 million TEUs.
Norfolk fell out of the top five U.S. container ports to seventh place, replaced by the Port of Seattle, according to the latest import-only statistics from trade intelligence firm Zepol Corp. Inbound TEUs grew 10.77 percent at the Virginia port to 739,520 TEUs. The VPA’s statistics varied from Zepol, showing import containers reached 889,648 TEUs, up from 816,868 TEUs.
West Coast ports generally reported a bigger rebound in container volumes than East Coast ports in 2010.
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