WASHINGTON: A month after reporting that October was its best-ever month for container volume, the Port of Virginia announced Friday that November wasn’t too far off the mark, ending up as its second-best month on record. The port’s terminals last month moved 236,155 containers as measured in 20-foot units, or TEUs, an industry benchmark. That was a 16.1 percent increase from the same month a year ago, when container volume dropped slightly year-over-year.
“November was a strong month, and we experienced solid growth in import and export volumes, which were up 17 percent and 15 percent (respectively). Our peak-season volumes will begin tapering off in December, which is normal,” said John Reinhart, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority, in a statement. “We were in positive territory in many categories, but one exception is vessel calls, and this is in keeping with the era of fewer calls, but larger vessels and corresponding cargo volumes.” The port reported 151 vessel calls in November, down 16 ships or 9.6 percent from a year earlier.
