New York studies how to cope with cargo growth

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said it has launched a study to look at how to handle future cargo growth, which is expected to double in the next 10 years.

The agency said the assessment, due to be completed early in 2009, will explore land use issues, including terminal capacity and space that may be needed to handle future cargo growth in a financially and environmentally sustainable manner. It also will look at cargo projections and ways to boost port productivity.

With the demand for consumer goods rising and the construction of bigger ships under way, we must immediately plan the port's future, said Susan Bass Levin, deputy executive director of the agency.

Port Authority Chairman Anthony R. Coscia said the port is the leading East Coast destination for international shippers because of forward-looking investments we've made over the last few decades, and this study will help us to identify how to accommodate even greater volumes of cargo in the years ahead.

In March, the agency acquired 119 acres on the eastern end of the Port Jersey peninsula in Jersey City for redevelopment into container terminal space. The space was obtained by purchasing the remaining years on Northeast Auto Terminal's auto processing facility.

The agency noted the last time it did a comprehensive port study, growth was seriously underestimated. That Comprehensive Port Improvement Plan forecast the port would not exceed 5 million TEUs until 2015, while volumes actually hit 5.3 million TEUs in 2007. Similarly, the study thought the port would only be handling 674,000 vehicles by 2020, but instead, the port was already handling 930,298 vehicles last year.