Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) announced that it has achieved its best ever July container volumes, with overall container movements increasing 19% compared to the previous July.
More than 116,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (or TEUs, the industry standard for measuring containers) moved through JAXPORT in July 2019, said Florida’s largest container port by volume.
So far in Fiscal Year 2019, more than 1.1 million containers have moved through JAXPORT, an increase of 9 percent over the same period last year. The port’s fiscal year runs Oct. 1- Sept. 30.
JAXPORT is on pace to set a container volume record for the fourth consecutive year.
Asian container volumes continue to grow, up 9 percent year–to–date with more than 374,200 Asian TEUs moved so far in FY19. JAXPORT’s Asian trade has grown an average of 14 percent annually over the past five years. The port offers regular service to destinations throughout Asia, including China, South Korea, Singapore, Japan, Vietnam and Thailand.
JAXPORT’s July auto business is up 6 percent over the same period last year, with nearly 57,000 vehicles moved. Year-to-date, the port’s auto volumes are up 7 percent and JAXPORT is on pace to surpass the auto volume record set in 2017, when 693,000 units moved through the port.
Port enhancements are currently underway to accommodate continued container and auto volume growth.
JAXPORT and SSA Atlantic, one of the world’s largest marine terminal operators, are set to break ground on a $238.7 million state-of-the-art international container terminal at JAXPORT’s Blount Island Marine Terminal, and the project to deepen the federal shipping channel to 47 ft. to accommodate more cargo aboard the largest ships is two years ahead of schedule, with anticipated completion in 2023.