The Port of New York and New Jersey was the nation’s busiest cargo gateway in March. This uptick was boosted by a late February blizzard, which delayed many vessels scheduled to call on the port in February and pushed their arrivals to March.
Total volume for March was near record highs at 837,993 TEUs (457,008 containers), up 6.9 percent from 783,732 TEUs (430,141 containers) the previous year. This number brings our total to 2,177,694 TEUs (1,191,640 containers) for the first quarter of the year, a 1.2 percent decrease from the same period in 2025.
By The Numbers
| 2026 Year to Date (January – March) | March 2026 vs. March 2025 | March 2026 Rail Volume |
| 2,177,694 TEUs (1,191,640 containers) handled | 837,993 (loaded and empty) TEUs (457,008 containers) in March 2026 | 80,914 containers moved |
| 1.2 percent decrease over the same period in 2025 | 783,732 (loaded and empty) TEUs (430,141 containers) in March 2025 | 37 percent increase over March 2025 |
Imports rose by 11.4 percent in March, totaling 425,453 TEUs (232,660 containers) and 381,791 TEUs (210,716 containers) in March 2025. Imports at the Port of New York and New Jersey for the first quarter reached 1,099,245 TEUs (603,215 containers), a 1.6 percent decrease from the 1,117,341 TEUs (617,313 containers) imported in the same period of 2025.
A total of 138,471 TEUs (74,017 containers) were exported in March, up from 134,966 TEUs (72,197 containers) recorded the previous year, a 2.6 percent increase. During the first quarter of the year, the Port of New York and New Jersey exported 354,180 TEUs (189,157 containers), a 3.9 percent increase from the 341,007 TEUs (182,375 containers) recorded in the first three months of 2025.
Export empties in March increased 2.8 percent, totaling 273,014 TEUs and 265,493 TEUs the previous year. For the first three months of the year, export empties reached 719,568 TEUs, down 2.9 percent from 741,083 TEUs in the same period of 2025. Import empties rose by 9.6 percent in the first quarter of 2026 versus the same period in 2025.
Rail volume surged 37 percent from the previous year’s March figure, totaling 80,914 containers. Rail volume for January through March was 20.8 percent higher than the same period in 2025.
A total of 35,044 autos moved through the Port of New York and New Jersey in March; a 7.5 percent decrease compared with the previous year. Auto volume for the first quarter of the year was 8.6 percent less than in the same period of 2025.
View monthly cargo volume here.