Shipping and Logistics
January 22, 2019
Tariffs Create Volume Records for U.S. Ports
Written by Sandy Williams
U.S. ports reported a record year for cargo volume in 2018. The Port of Los Angeles broke its all-time cargo record for the third time in a row, moving 9,458,749 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units the size of a container), a 1.2 percent increase from 2017. The Port of New Orleans reported a new record and a 12 percent year-over-year increase. South Carolina Ports saw TEUs increase 6.4 percent for the year to a record 3.2 million. Port of New York and New Jersey volume increased 6 percent in the first 11 months of 2018. Georgia Ports Authority reported its highest volume ever with an increase of 8 percent to 4.36 million TEUs.
What’s all this record breaking about? Primarily the trade dispute with China. U.S. ports have the United States government to thank for a rush by importers to get products to the U.S. ahead of tariffs and potential tariff increases.
