During the first six months of fiscal year 2018, JAXPORT recorded 27 percent growth in total container shipments over the same period last year, moving 634,460 twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEU). JAXPORT’s fiscal year runs October 1 through September 30.
JAXPORT’s Asian container volumes continue to grow, up 16 percent in the first six months of the fiscal year, with 209,803 TEU moved.
During the past five years, JAXPORT has recorded an average of 21 percent annual growth in Asian container volumes.
The federal project to deepen the Jacksonville shipping channel to 47 feet to accommodate more cargo aboard the largest container ships from Asia began construction in February 2018.
JAXPORT’s Puerto Rican volumes have also increased, growing 40 percent with 375,633 TEU moved, up from 267,827 during the same time last year. As the primary U.S. port for trade with Puerto Rico, JAXPORT and its partners continue to supply aid to the residents following Hurricane Maria’s devastation in September.
Last year, JAXPORT and private users of the harbor moved more than 1.3 million TEU, making Jacksonville the No. 1 container port complex in Florida.