The Port of New York and New Jersey marked its third-busiest year ever in 2024, seeing double-digit growth over 2023.

The port authority said 2024's performance was only behind the pandemic-driven annual totals in 2021 and 2022.

In 2024, the port handled 8.7 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). The port's strong performance was an 11% jump over 2023's total despite shippers' concerns through much of the year around a potential labour disruption.

"The heightened cargo levels reflected the industry’s confidence in the Port of New York and New Jersey’s reliability and efficiency," the announcement said.

It added that the Port of New York and New Jersey also ended the year as the busiest cargo gateway on the East Coast and among the top three busiest in the U.S. for total TEUs and loaded TEU activity.

Meanwhile, November's TEU total of 718,826 was also a 12% jump from November 2023, while December's total of 688,180 TEUs marked an increase of 9% over the prior year.

The port noted that it was the seaport's second-busiest December ever, behind December 2021.