2021 Marks a Year of Breaking Records at
The Port of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, January 26, 2022 —
The Port of Philadelphia, PhilaPort, had a record-breaking year in growth in 2021. The Port saw double-digit growth in containers, breakbulk and overall port tonnage for the year.
Year-to-Date TEU volumes have increased 15% to 739,323 TEUs, with imports growing 16% and export 15%. PhilaPort surpassed its 2020 total TEU count of (640,799), marking another new milestone.
“It has been an interesting year full of challenges and opportunities,” said Jeff Theobald, PhilaPort Executive Director and CEO. “Not only did we surge in container volumes, but some BCOs (beneficial cargo owners) shifted to breakbulk shipments. PhilaPort is one of the only U.S. ports that has several facilities that are purpose-built to handle breakbulk. PhilaPort steel volumes were up 196%, cocoa volumes went up 106% and wood pulp & lumber volumes increased over 10%.”
Breakbulk YTD cargo volumes grew 19% to 1,288,226 metric tons. Breaking our end-of-year volumes from 2020 (previous 1,083,427 metric tons).
Overall Port tonnage YTD volumes grew 10% to 7,062,523 metric tons, crushing the Port’s highest record set back in 2017 at 6,868,747 metric tons.
Other December Cargo Highlights (Year-End Summary):
- Steel Tonnage +196% YTD
- Wood Pulp +11% YTD
- Lumber +11% YTD
- Cocoa Beans +106% YTD
- Vessels +7% YTD
PhilaPort, The Port of Philadelphia, is an independent agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania charged with the management, maintenance, marketing and promotion of publicly-owned port facilities along the Delaware River in Philadelphia, as well as strategic planning throughout the port district. PhilaPort works with its terminal operators to modernize, expand and improve its facilities, and to market those facilities to prospective port users. Port cargoes and the activities they generate are responsible for thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the Philadelphia area and throughout Pennsylvania.