Import-export container traffic through Port Authority of New York and New Jersey terminals fell 12.7 percent last year but leveled off in December and rose 10.9 percent in January.
The port authority said its terminals handled 3.638 million loaded 20-foot equivalent units last year, down from 4.165 million in 2008, as the recession cut into trade volume. Import loads declined 11.9 percent to 2.245 million TEUs while exports fell 13.8 percent to 1.393 million.
Vehicle shipments through the port plunged 40.1 percent, from 1,031,540 units in 2008 to 617,831 in 2009.
Total TEU volume, including empty boxes, was down 13.4 percent to 4.561 million TEUs, the port authority said. That overall number was almost equally divided between imports and exports, reflecting the outbound movement of more than 846,000 empty containers.
Total value of all cargo in the port dropped from $190.4 billion in 2008 to $146 billion in 2009.
Year-to-year import and export totals of loaded boxes were down for every month in 2009 except November and December, when exports were higher than a year earlier.
The 13.1 percent year-to-year increase in December exports offset most of a 7.5 percent decline in the larger import total, resulting in a 0.2 percent drop in overall TEUs for the month.
The recovery continued during January, when import volume increased 5.3 percent to 185,821 TEUs and exports jumped 21.2 percent to 116,759 TEUs, for an overall increase of 10.9 percent.
China increased its share of the port’s containerized imports to 29.96 percent from 25.17 percent in 2009. The next highest origin countries were Italy, 6.42 percent; India, 5.7 percent; Germany, 5.04 percent; and Brazil, 4.02 percent.
The port authority said its terminals handled 3.638 million loaded 20-foot equivalent units last year, down from 4.165 million in 2008, as the recession cut into trade volume. Import loads declined 11.9 percent to 2.245 million TEUs while exports fell 13.8 percent to 1.393 million.
Vehicle shipments through the port plunged 40.1 percent, from 1,031,540 units in 2008 to 617,831 in 2009.
Total TEU volume, including empty boxes, was down 13.4 percent to 4.561 million TEUs, the port authority said. That overall number was almost equally divided between imports and exports, reflecting the outbound movement of more than 846,000 empty containers.
Total value of all cargo in the port dropped from $190.4 billion in 2008 to $146 billion in 2009.
Year-to-year import and export totals of loaded boxes were down for every month in 2009 except November and December, when exports were higher than a year earlier.
The 13.1 percent year-to-year increase in December exports offset most of a 7.5 percent decline in the larger import total, resulting in a 0.2 percent drop in overall TEUs for the month.
The recovery continued during January, when import volume increased 5.3 percent to 185,821 TEUs and exports jumped 21.2 percent to 116,759 TEUs, for an overall increase of 10.9 percent.
China increased its share of the port’s containerized imports to 29.96 percent from 25.17 percent in 2009. The next highest origin countries were Italy, 6.42 percent; India, 5.7 percent; Germany, 5.04 percent; and Brazil, 4.02 percent.