Sixth straight year of growth for Virginia

The amount of cargo moved by rail from Virginia’s marine terminals to Midwest markets increased by 83,990 teu, or 20.9% when compared with 2006. In addition, the amount of cargo moved between the Virginia Inland Port (VIP) in Front Royal and the marine terminals in Hampton Roads increased by more than 8,000 teu, or 14.4%.

In 2007 the Port of Virginia handled 2,289 ship calls and 366,739 tons of breakbulk cargo. Four new services added the port to their rotations over the course of the year. In other developments, Virginia International Terminals signed five-year contracts with Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics and CSAV, with values that could exceed US$20m and US$50m respectively; the Virginia Port Authority (VPA) signed memorandums of understanding with the Suez Canal Authority and the Port of Xiamen to promote trade with Virginia; and PL Shipping was retained to represent the VPA in India.

Numbers for the first half of fiscal 2008 are also showing growth: from July to December the port handled 1.1m teu, 7% more than in the same period of last fiscal year; the Midwest rail volume increased by 52,900 teu, or 26.5%; and the VIP rail volume was up 9,000 teu, or 34.9%.