Virginia port's volume maintains record pace

In April, the Port of Virginia registered the third-best month for container volume in its history. The Norfolk port handled 201,390 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), up 12.3 percent compared with April 2013 volume.

Exports rose 12.4 percent and rail container volume climbed 13.1 percent. In addition, breakbulk tonnage jumped 41.7 percent and vehicle units soared 327.3 percent.

Through 2014's first four months, the port registered 746,019 TEUs, the highest level in its history.

"We are moving forward on many of our initiatives and thus far, we are seeing progress on the rail operation at Norfolk International Terminals as we have more than half of our new yard hustlers working and supporting that operation," said John Reinhart, chief executive officer and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority, in a press release. "In addition, we are the seeing the benefits of having a portion of the Portsmouth Marine Terminal operational with the Pasha/Chrysler vehicle exports."