Here are the top 10 imports handled by the Port of New York and New Jersey in the first half of 2015, according to the Port Authority.
NEWARK -- An improving economy and diversion of cargo from the West Coast made for a record year for the Port of New York and New Jersey in 2014, a trend that continued into this year. Thanks to growing volume, a regional trade group said this week the port had generated 40,000 new jobs since 2012.
So what is all that cargo coming into the port, sloshing in the holds of super tankers or stacked on the huge floating warehouses known as container ships?
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Well, 90 percent of everything, according to the industry cliche: cars and what fuels them; smart phones and refrigerators; perfume and pearl earrings; beer and bananas.
Here's a list of the top 10 commodities and consumer goods, ranked by dollar value, that arrived in the port in the first half of 2015, according to figures from the Port Authority.
1. Petroleum: $6,784,350,892
2 Appliances: $3,802,870,153
3. Vehicles: $2,585,177,621
4. Plastics: $1,723,074,427
5. Electronics: $1,458,851,998
6. Chemicals: $1,454,920,278
7. Oils and perfumes: $928,655,240
8. Pharmaceuticals: $897,480,980
9. Optical and photographic: $801,778,807
10. Pearls and precious gems and metals: $562,393,630
Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.