Jacksonville port set cargo record in FY2017

The Jacksonville Port Authority's (JAXPORT) public sea terminals logged record growth in containers and overall tonnage during fiscal-year 2017, which ended Sept. 30.

JAXPORT moved more than 1 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), a 7 percent increase over FY2016, which also was a record year in container volumes for the port.  JAXPORT moved 9.3 million tons of cargo in FY2017, up 7 percent over the previous fiscal year.

The Asian container trade continues to be the fastest growing segment of JAXPORT's container cargo business, port officials said in a press release. In FY2017, JAXPORT moved almost 400,000 Asian containers, a 19 percent increase over last year.

What's more, the Asian sector now accounts for nearly 40 percent of the port's total cargo volumes, up from 24 precent in 2013.

JAXPORT also moved a record 693,000 total automobiles in FY2017. Port officials attributed the uptick to strong auto sales in the Southeast United States and the continued growth of JAXPORT's three auto processors.

To support future volume increases, the port has begun a project to expand its auto and vehicle handling capacity by more than 25 percent.