After ending 2020 with record-breaking volumes at the Port of New York and New Jersey, the trend continued in the new year with January 2021 as the seaport experienced double-digit growth in cargo activity and the highest January on record for volume.

In January, the seaport moved 721,284 TEUs (400,400 lifts) compared to 617,024 TEUs (349,196 rail lifts) in January 2020, a 16.9 percent increase.  Rail volume increased 12.2 percent from the previous year’s monthly figure, totaling 68,880 containers for January 2021.

Consumer spending in the U.S. continued to drive demand for goods, leading to higher volume for imports. In January, imports rose by 15.1 percent, totaling 371,392 TEUs (206,598 lifts) versus 322,643 TEUs (182,336 lifts) in January 2020.

Exports for January totaled 108,738 TEUs (59,420 lifts) compared to 118,488 TEUs (65,438 lifts) in January 2020, an 8.2 percent decrease in TEU volume. Export empties increased by over 33 percent, reflecting the high demand to return empty containers to global manufacturing centers so they can be reused for future imports.

Autos moved through the Port of New York and New Jersey totaled 43,182 in January, an increase of 13.3 percent when compared to January 2020.