Port of NY, NJ Solidifies Position as No. 2 US Port

NEW YORK—The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey reports traffic and activity at its seaport, airports and Goethals Bridge in the first six months of this year set all-time records.

In June, the Port Authority predicted record activity levels at the Port of New York and New Jersey. On Thursday, the authority reported that during the first six months of 2019, the port set a new all-time record for cargo, handling 3,652,841 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units). The extraordinarily high growth in cargo volume continues the port’s monthly streak of holding the position as the number two port in the nation measured by loaded containers. The port surpassed Long Beach, CA as the nation’s second busiest port. Los Angeles continues to be the top port in the US.

The NY-NJ  port handled a total of 611,027 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) for the month of June, the second busiest June on record eclipsed only by last June’s record volumes.

The Port Authority’s four commercial airports—John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, LaGuardia and New York Stewart International airports—handled a total of 68.4 million passengers during the first half of 2019, easily surpassing the all-time record of 66.3 million passengers in the first half of 2018.

JFK, Newark, and LaGuardia airports also each showed strong growth in the second quarter of 2019, handling more passengers in June 2019 than during any other June on record. This resulted in an all-time June high of an estimated 12.79 million passengers across the airports.

Other Port Authority assets also set records. The new Goethals Bridge set a new record for vehicle traffic in the first six months of 2019, accommodating 8.59 million eastbound vehicles, an 8.2% increase over the previous June record. Bolstered by the Goethals Bridge’s monthly records, the three Staten Island bridges collectively handled a second quarter record of 9.3 million vehicles. The Port Authority’s six crossings collectively continued a five-year run of steady increases in eastbound traffic in the second quarter of 2019, handling more than 31.3 million eastbound vehicles, more than 5% above the volume handled in the second quarter of 2014.

Average weekday ridership in June 2019 on the PATH system was the highest ever recorded for June at 292,316, and that record level included an all-time high of weekdays in June where ridership exceeded 300,000 passengers. During the first six months of 2019, PATH handled an average weekday ridership of more than 283,000 passengers, which is the highest first six months in PATH history.

Weekday ridership at PATH has been steadily rising over the past decade as residential development in New Jersey along PATH’s train lines has skyrocketed, the Port Authority states.  Weekend service in 2019 has been curtailed into the World Trade Center to allow for work in the tunnels under the Hudson River to repair damage caused by Superstorm Sandy.