Port Concentration

Since 1995, container activity at U.S. seaports has shown a greater concentration of vessel calls and cargo traffic in a few leading ports because of increased use of larger, faster, and more specialized vessels. Modern post-Panamax vessels are longer than two football...

Regional Shifts in Port Market Share

The increased use of oceanborne containers in transporting U.S. international trade continues to affect port operations and the distribution of total maritime trade among U.S. ports. Before the mid-1980s, east coast ports handled the majority of U.S....

What's in the Box?

Modern containers carry numerous commodities, from sweaters, blouses, and flat-screen televisions to computer equipment, wood, and paper products. Containers have reduced the cost of safely transporting such goods as children's toys, clothing, and electronics from factories...

Vessel Calls and Capacity

Between 2004 and 2009, the number of containership calls at U.S. ports has remained fairly steady, averaging about 18,000 per year. By contrast, container capacity of the calling vessels grew by 19 percent during this same period, from 59 million to 70 million TEUs....

Figure 15 Average Containership Size Per Call at U.S. Ports: 2002-2009

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Spotlight 1: Landside Access to Seaports

Throughput at U.S. container ports is expected to return to pre-recession levels as the economy rebounds from the economic downturn and the associated drop in container traffic that took place between December 2007 and June 2009 (JOC 2010b). As U.S....

Figure 16 Containership Calls at U.S. Ports by Vessel Size: 2004 and 2009

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America's Container Ports

Maritime Trade & Transportation 2007

BTS 01-01 2009

Table 3-8 U.S. Related Trade in All Available NAICS2 with China for 2006-Imports

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(U.S. dollars)