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The Port of Virginia handled 182,318 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) in September, up 11 percent compared with September 2011 volume.

"That's eight consecutive months of growth for the port. In addition, we have had the best month in our history in four of the last five months," said Rodney Oliver, interim executive director of the Virginia Port Authority, in a prepared statement.

He credits expanding rail services, in part, for helping to grow volumes. The Norfolk, Va., port is served by CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway, Bay Coast Railroad Inc. and Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad Co.

Last month, the port handled a total of 33,802 rail containers, up 15.6 percent year over year. But the Virginia Inland Port (VIP) registered a slight decrease (3.4 percent) in the number of containers handled, from 3,158 in the year-ago period to 3,052.

Through 2012's first nine months, the port handled 1,546,087 TEUs, up 8.3 percent versus the same 2011 period. The volume of rail containers climbed 15 percent to 281,019 and VIP traffic rose 3.7 percent.

The port also shared a few additional September highlights:
• The port is off to its best fiscal-year start in its history, with fiscal year-to-date volumes through September at record levels for containers, TEUs and container tonnage.
• The third quarter was the second-best quarter in the port's history for TEU and container volumes, trailing only fourth-quarter 2007.
• Total rail containers continued to climb with double-digit increases posted in seven of 2012's first nine nine months.