FLORIDA: Port Everglades grew container volume 5 percent year-over-year to 1.06 million 20-foot-equivalent units in fiscal 2015, beating its previous annual record.
The port attributed its new record to more services calling the port and Florida East Coast Railway’s intermodal container transfer facility.
APL and SeaLand in August selected the port as the first and last call for their joint Americas service, which the port expects to generate an additional 20,000 TEUs in fiscal 2016. The port also got a boost from Ayco Farms, which imports melons from Central America from May to November.
The port was one of the first members of a U.S. Department of Agriculture pilot program to allow fruit from Latin America to be imported below the 39th parallel.
“We continue making substantial infrastructure investments to help our customers grow their businesses — most notably, the FECR’s railyard and roadway improvements to improve the last mile of landside connectivity,” said Port Everglades Chief Executive and Port Director Steven Cernak.
The 43-acre, $72 million railyard opened in the summer of 2014 and construction on an overpass directly connecting the port of Interstate 595 wrapped up earlier this year.
The port’s infrastructure initiatives also include dredging to 48 feet from the current 42 in a bid to remain competitive as ships continue to grow in size. The port lags others on the East Coast in this regard, but its efforts will ensure that it does not fall behind completely.
The port of Virginia is already at 50 feet, while Miami reached that depth over the summer and New York-New Jersey is nearing completion of its dredging to 50 feet. The Port of Charleston recently received approval to go to 52 feet from 45 and Savannah is in the process of deepening to 47 feet from 42.
