The Ports of New Jersey and New York are on track to beat 2014's record breaking year for the number of containers handled, but increased truck traffic is the by-product of that success
If drivers have noticed more container trucks on the road lately, it may be because 2015 is on pace to break record for the number of containers shipped into and out of the Port of New York and New Jersey.
Merchandise purchased by holiday shoppers this past weekend, likely arrived in one of the 311,992 containers handled at the port in October. That broke the record of October 2014 when 306,805 containers were handled, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officials said.
October's container traffic represents a 1.7 percent increase over the October 2014 number, said Lenis Rodrigues, a Port Authority spokeswoman. The number of containers topped 300,000 in March and July saw the highest numbers with 339,601 containers handled at six metro area facilities, according to Port Authority statistics.
While 2014 was a record breaking year, with two months to go, 2015 is only 252,992 containers away from beating that record.
But there is a price to be paid and it comes in the form of more highway traffic when those containers are trucked to their destinations. Traffic to the ports average 11,000 truck a day, Rodrigues said.
About 85 percent of those containers are shipped out of the port by truck, she said. The remaining 15 percent are moved on ExpressRail trains, and that number is increasing, Rodrigues said. That number has increased from 12 percent handled by rail in 2012 and authority officials have set a goal for ExpressRail to handle 20 percent of the overall port volume.
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Back-ups of truck traffic to the port became an issue in April and again in late August and early September, as container trucks lined up during weekday mornings on the New Jersey Turnpike Extension waiting for the Port to open in Bayonne.
A plan was implemented to have those trucks line-up on local streets to avoid having them back-up on the turnpike extension's eastbound lanes during the morning rush hour.
Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.