Containerized cargo traffic at PortMiami increased 18.5 percent in August from the previous year as cargo totaled 99,546 twenty-foot equivalent units.
The Port said the growth in cargo is due to the $1.3 billion of infrastructure investments made in the port’s facilities. These investments included dredging the shipping channel and adding four super post-Panamax cranes, allowing the port to service larger cargo ships.
PortMiami has also made investments in an on-dock rail link, which connects Miami to 70 percent of the U.S. population. In addition to the infrastructure investments, PortMiami said its cargo growth is due to expanded services offered by its cargo partners.
In June 2017, the German cargo shipper Hapag-Lloyd added PortMiami to its Mediterranean Gulf Service, while Seaboard Marine, the port’s largest cargo terminal and carrier, launched two new direct services between Miami and Latin America.
“The PortMiami team understands that the key to the port’s growth and success is largely dependent on our commitment to providing our partners with fast and reliable service,” said Port Director and CEO Juan M. Kuryla. “We can’t thank them enough for their trust in PortMiami.”
In 2015, PortMiami completed over $1 billion in capital improvements, which allowed the port to service cargo vessels up to 22 containers wide and up to nine containers above deck and eleven containers below. The Port is one of the busiest ports in the world and said it contributes more than $41.4 billion annually to Miami-Dade County.
Its neighboring port, Broward County‘s Port Everglades is also seeking to accommodate larger cargo ships and is in the midst of a improvement project. The Broward County port’s capital improvements will total $437.5 million, and will add new berths for bigger cargo ships and will install rail infrastructure for the new super post-Panamax cranes.
