Container volumes at the Port of New Orleans reaches record high

01 Feb 2012 - Cargo volumes and throughput, Containers

• Port sets container volumes record for second consecutive year

• Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal handled 476,413 TEU in 2011

• New services, cranes and facilities to spur further growth, says port CEO

The Port of New Orleans has achieved a second straight record-setting year for its container volumes.

According to New Orleans’ year-end figures, the port’s Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal handled 476,413 TEU in 2011.

The figure represents a rise of 11.6 percent over the port’s previous record-setting year in 2010, and up 46 percent compared to volumes just two years ago.

“Two back-to-back record-setting years is a testament to the hard work of our customers and terminal operators,” said Port President and CEO Gary LaGrange.

“Our volumes are attributed to a strong export market, particularly chemicals and agricultural products; coffee and apparel were strong commodities on the inbound side.”

Last year, New Orleans Port also added a new Latin American container service and a new container carrier, as French shipper CMA CGM returned to the port.

The shipping line joined the Mediterranean Shipping Company, Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk, Seaboard Marine and CSAV in serving the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal.

According to LaGrange, an expansion is currently underway throughout the terminal, following the port’s US$38 million investment in 2011, which included the delivery of two new container gantry cranes and an additional four acres to the terminal’s marshalling yard.

In December, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation John Porcari awarded the New Orleans with a $16.7 million federal grant to build the Mississippi River Intermodal Terminal. The terminal will include a specialized12 acre freight rail yard, with access to six of New Orleans’s Class One railroads.

“We continue to reap the benefits of investments we have made at the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal,” said LaGrange.

“We will continue to work hard to stay a few steps ahead of the market's demand as the container trade grows in the Gulf of Mexico.”

The Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal is jointly operated by the New Orleans Terminal and Ports America.