Port of New Orleans setting new cargo throughput records

2014 was a very good year for the Port of New Orleans, and officials there are forecasting an even more robust cargo scenario in 2015.

Last month shippers were provided with new direct weekly options to Europe via CMA CGM –  the world’s third-largest contain line, and Maersk has reintroduced premium service the Gulf gateway,

“It was a busy year for the port and these numbers reflect the success we’ve realized from the combined efforts of the entire port community,” said Gary LaGrange, Port President and CEO. “This is great news and creates momentum for our terminal operators and customers. The challenge now is to build upon these successes and continue to grow.”

Total port-wide cargo, which includes midstream operations, export grain and private tonnage within the port’s three-parish (county) jurisdiction also rose 27.68 percent to 31.05 million tons. Many of the Port’s top commodities realized healthy gains, as well. Export poultry grew by 5.5 percent to 331,523 tons and imported bananas grew by 251 percent to 72,165 tons despite only seven weeks of cargo delivered by Chiquita Brands LLC.

Cargo worked at the port’s public docks in 2014 totaled 8.37 million tons, the highest total since 2000 and up 28 percent compared to the prior 12-month period.

Imported steel and container cargo led the growth, as imported iron and steel rose 101.6 percent in the 12-month-period to 3.54 million tons. Overall breakbulk tons totaled 3.76 million tons, up 51.7 percent and container tons topped 4.61 million tons, up 13.5 percent compared to the prior year.

New shippers such as Chiquita, which returned to the Port after a 40-year hiatus, and project cargo generated by the growing chemical industry, will bolster cargo figures in the future, LaGrange said.

“Chiquita plans to ship 30,000 to 39,000 TEUs of bananas and other fresh fruit into the Port of New Orleans, as well as 30,000 to 39,000 TEUs of various outbound cargos,” said Chiquita Brands International Inc. Senior Vice President Mario Pacheco.

New Orleans had an all-time container mark of 490,526 twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) in 2014 and officials here are forecasting well over 500,000 TEUs for 2015.

“New weekly services, such as CMA CGM’s Victory Bridge Service to Europe, the return of Maersk Line’s vessels, Chiquita cargo and our new Mississippi River Intermodal Terminal will position the port for future growth,” LaGrange said.

The Port of New Orleans is a deep-draft multipurpose port at the center of the world’s busiest port system — Louisiana’s Lower Mississippi River. Connected to major inland markets and Canada via 14,500 miles of waterways, six class-1 railroads and the interstate highway system, the port also serves shippers of steel, project cargo, containers, coffee, natural rubber, chemicals, forest products, manufactured and goods.

An extensive network of ocean carrier services, along with added-value services like transloading of bulk into containers, make the Port of New Orleans the superior logistics solution for many types of cargo. To stay ahead of market demand, the port has invested more than $100 million in capital improvement projects since 2012 and has a Master Plan to expand the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal to an annual capacity of 1.6 million TEUs.