The Port of Virginia is all over the news this month with accolades and record breaking numbers. Nelson International is proud to call this our home port and applaud the hard work and dedication that goes into such a large part of our state infrastructure. In addition to posting the fourth straight year of growth, the port received 10 awards for the AAPA’s annual communications awards and opened a new 26-lane, state of the art PRO-PASS North Gate Complex at the Norfolk International Terminal. With the news of how well the port is performing, we can look to the NRF’s statement on imports rising and see how Virginia stacks up with other ports to reach record highs for July and August.
The Port of Virginia announced its annual container volume on July 11, 2017 as 2.7 million TEU, breaking their current record for volume 
and making last year the fourth consecutive fiscal year of growth. “The Port of Virginia team and its labor partners accomplished a lot in fiscal year 2017,” said port CEO and executive director John F. Reinhart. “We grew in the right areas, we moved a record-amount of volume across all modes of transportation . . . and we continue to improve our service levels. The $670 million we are investing to expand the capabilities and capacity at The Port of Virginia are aimed at sustaining this trend into the next several decades.”
The investments in capacity include $320 million to double container capacity at VIG, another $350 million to renovate the south container yard at NIT, and $42 million to build the new 26-lane NIT gate. With confirmed federal approval for the East Coast Gateway Terminal Agreement that includes the Georgia Ports Authority, new stacking cranes and the arrival of the 13,000TEU Costco Development, we expect next year to hold even more record-breaking months in a record-breaking year.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates have reported that 1.72 million TEUs were handled in May, a 7.3% rise from April and 6.2%YOY. This report further estimates these ports handled approximately 1.66 million TEUs in June, a 5.3% YOY increase. Along with the Port of Virginia, The Port of Long Beach, Port of Oakland, and The South Carolina Ports Authority all posed yearly increases in volume for May of 2017. Their report leads them to forecast record high levels of import containers for July and August as school supplies continue to flood in for the back to school season.
In addition to the record breaking numbers flowing through the Port of Virginia, the terminal received 10 awards from the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) this year for the ten projects submitted in the trade group’s annual communications awards. Awards were based on a mix of effectiveness, research, clarity and creativity. The six winners of Awards of Distinction and the four Awards of Merit will be honored in October at the 106th Annual Convention and Expo.
We at Nelson international could not be prouder of our affiliation with the Port of Virginia and look forward to talking more about their successes in the future. To find out how the Port of Virginia can figure into your logistics needs, contact our staff!
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