Month-to-month gain comes despite 5.9 percent drop from 2010.

    Import volume at the Port of New York and New Jersey grew 6.7 percent in July on a month-to-month basis to the highest point of 2011 although container volume fell back compared to last summer’s record high.

    Loaded containerized imports fell 5.9 percent in July from the same month a year ago, leaving overall container volume at the port down 2.2 percent from July 2010.

    But last July also marked the busiest month for container imports in the port's history, with 251,199 20-foot equivalents arriving at the New York-New Jersey terminals as shippers tried to get ahead of equipment and vessel capacity shortages.

    Capacity has been more plentiful this year and ports around the United States are reporting a softer build-up toward the fall peak shipping season.

    The NY-NJ figures for July suggest volume is growing, albeit at a relatively pace.

    The port’s exports also expanded in July, growing 4.8 percent over the same month a year ago and 2.7 percent on a month-to-month basis.

    For the first seven months of 2011, loaded containerized imports at the port were up 5.3 percent over the same period a year ago while exports grew 8.5 percent.

    New York-New Jersey also is seeing a strong move toward intermodal rail, with rail lifts expanding 14.5 percent in the first seven months of the year, including a 10.5 percent year-over-year increase in July.

(Source:joc.com)