The Port of New York and New Jersey announced that it moved the most cargo in the US in February and year-to-date in 2023.

In February, traditionally the slowest time of the year for all US ports due to overseas production slowdowns and closures related to the Lunar New Year holiday, the port said it remained busy by moving 571,177 TEUs, the highest amount of cargo among peer ports, exceeding the Port of Los Angeles by more than 83,000 TEUs and exceeding the Port of Long Beach by more than 27,000 TEUs.

"The container port's status as the busiest in the United States comes after the seaport was the second-busiest in the month of January when the port moved 645,430 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units)," it said.

For the first two months of 2023, the port also was the busiest in the nation after moving a total of 1,216,607 TEUs.

In particular, the port has been aggressively clearing out its empty container inventory with the removal of more than 390,000 TEUs so far this year.

The port noted that this evacuation of empty containers helps improve seaport operations and fluidity by ensuring more container terminal space for imports to be processed quickly at the port in the future.

"The Port of New York and New Jersey is again No. 1 in the nation," said Kevin O'Toole, chairman of the Port Authority.

"After years of unprecedented cargo growth, we are using this traditionally slow period to work with our port stakeholders who need to increase capacity throughout the regional supply chain."

Stronger second half expected

"We expect a stronger second half of the year, as we have been in discussions with many importers that shifted volume to us from elsewhere and are now committed to keeping that volume in our gateway," O'Toole added.

Rick Cotton, executive director of the Port Authority, said The Port of New York and New Jersey's return to the top spot as the nation's busiest demonstrates the port's "continued reliability and consistency" as other ports experienced uncertainty and challenges recently.

"Shippers and retailers know they can rely on the Port of New York and New Jersey to move their cargo quickly month-in and month-out, and that trust is a result of our deep relationships and collaboration with all links in the regional supply chain," Cotton said.

The Port of New York and New Jersey was previously the busiest container port in the nation for four months, from August through November 2022.

In 2022, the port handled a total of nearly 9.5 million TEUs, the highest annual amount of cargo in its history.

Last year, the Port of New York and New Jersey was the second-busiest port in the United States, next to the Port of Los Angeles.