The Port of New Orleans has moved a total of 133,845 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) during the third quarter of fiscal year 2024, which represents a 19% increase year over year.
According to a news release, the port also experienced a record quarter with container volume not seen since the supply chain issues in 2021.
“As containerized import volumes continue to steadily climb, due in part to Port NOLA’s investment in four new ship to shore container cranes, throughput efficiency (the number of containers that pass-through Port NOLA in a given timeframe) also continues to be high,” the news release reads.
“This record growth is a direct result of our innovative logistic solutions during supply chain disruptions as shippers focus on diversifying their trade lanes,” Port NOLA President & CEO and New Orleans Public Belt (NOPB) CEO Brandy D. Christian said in a news release. “Our strategic alignment with the NOPB makes New Orleans the only U.S. city where deep-draft shipping coincides directly with a rail gateway that serves six major Class 1 railroads.”
“During the third quarter of fiscal year 2024, loaded imports increased by 19%; loaded exports are up by 16% year over year,” the news release states. “Port NOLA’s top import commodities include coffee, mainly from South America and Southeast Asia, various chemicals from Mexico and North Europe, as well as wood products such as plywood from Asia and South America. Top export commodities include plastics such as PVC, mainly to Asia, various chemical products to North Europe, and paper to Central America. Additionally, there were 100 vessel calls this quarter, representing a 5% increase compared to the same period last year.”
“This upward trend is very encouraging and consistent with higher reliability in our weekly ocean carrier services,” Port NOLA Chief Commercial Officer Amanda Coates said in a news release. “It also translates into more steady volumes from month to month than those from previous quarters.”
Last month, Port NOLA announced it set a new record for its container-on-barge service, moving 20,500 containers by barge during calendar year 2023, the highest since the service started in 2016 with the Port of Greater Baton Rouge and Ingram Marine Group. The partnership conveys the largest container-on-barge network in the U.S. with connectivity to the nation’s heartland. Container-on-barge moves containers by water instead of truck on roads.
