Port Everglades Cargo Growth Double the National Average
Port Everglades’ 14 percent growth in containerized cargo during the first six months of calendar year 2011 is nearly twice the national average of 7.1 percent for all U.S. seaports, based on the latest Journal of Commerce PIERS Port Ranking Report.
“Port Everglades is climbing back to its pre-2007 cargo levels, before the downturn in the global economy,” said Port Everglades Director Phil Allen. “Cargo volumes have increased each month this year over 2010 and we expect the trend to continue.”
Containerized cargo volumes at Port Everglades increased 14 percent from 292,673 TEUs during the period of January to June 2010 to 333,546 TEUs during the same time period in 2011. Nationally, TEUs increased from 13,611,797 during the first half of 2010 to 14,571,482 in 2011. A TEU is a 20-foot equivalent unit, a shipping industry measurement term for a standard 20-foot container.
The Journal of Commerce PIERS Port Ranking Report (Port Import Export Reporting Service) is a subscriber-based statistical tracking service for business in the import/export trade.
The increase in the overall cargo volume for the Port reflects volume increases for nearly all of the Port’s cargo terminal customers, says Port Everglades Director of Business Development Carlos Buqueras. “These steady increases highlight the ability of established terminal operators to grow their business from Port Everglades’ location in the center of South Florida.”
In addition, SeaFreight Agencies recently opened a new containerized cargo terminal on 25 acres of a recently completed 41-acre site in the southern portion of Port Everglades. SeaFreight’s new terminal is part of a 10-year terminal lease agreement at Port Everglades.
Crowley Liner Services, which has been operating at Port Everglades since the mid-1980s, also recently expanded onto another 11 acres of the property to increase its leasehold from 68.2 acres to 80 acres in a new 10-year terminal lease agreement.
Port Everglades is one of the nation’s leading container ports and a trade gateway to Latin America and Caribbean. Port Everglades has direct access to the interstate highway system, is within two miles of the FEC rail hub and is just one mile from the Atlantic Shipping Lanes. Ongoing capital improvements and expansion ensure that Port Everglades will have the ability to handle future growth in container traffic. A world-class cargo handling facility, Port Everglades serves as an ideal point of entry for products shipped around the world.
