Port Manatee Shatters H1 Cargo Records

Port Manatee has enjoyed the busiest first fiscal half in its nearly 50-year history, shattering several key cargo records for the six-month period ended March 31.

The Central-Southwest Florida Gulf Coast port has achieved new first-half highs for total tonnage throughput and containerized and bulk cargo activity, according to figures released on Thursday, April 18, at the regular monthly meeting of the Manatee County Port Authority.

Record accomplishments of Port Manatee in its first fiscal half, ended March 31, compared with the first six months of fiscal 2018, include:

• Total short tons, up 14 percent, to 5,132,864;
• Containerized cargo, as measured by 20-foot-equivalents units, or TEUs, up 34 percent, to 25,242;
• Containerized cargo tons, up 36 percent, to 262,143;
• Dry bulk cargo tons, up 32 percent, to 1,216,090; and
• Liquid bulk cargo tons, up 11 percent, to 3,400,539.

Much of the gain in containerized cargo activity is attributable to a more-than-doubling of juice volumes coming into the port in specially fitted container units, imported via Mexico services of Port Manatee-based World Direct Shipping. Also contributing significantly to container volumes is longtime tenant Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. Inc.

On the dry bulk front, volumes of fly ash, salt and cement moving across Port Manatee docks all more than doubled from the year-earlier figures, while liquid bulk gains were propelled by increases in gasoline, bunker fuels, diesel and ethanol, as well as not-from-concentrate juices.