Located on the Northeast coast of the United States, the Port of New York and New Jersey is a perfect shipping origin/destination for imports and exports to and from Europe and Canada. The port has 10 terminals: six that handle container cargo, three reserved for cruise ships and one for bulk and break bulk cargo.

What’s different about this port and how has it readied itself for the Panama Canal expansion? Read on….

• Unlike most port authorities, whose primary responsibility is marine cargo and port activities, The Port Authority manages and owns bridges, roads, airports, tunnels, commuter rail lines, the World Trade Center and port terminals. An approximate 25-mile radius from the Statue of Liberty, known as the “Port District,” represents the geographic area in which the agency typically functions.
• The port’s $1.6 billion dredging project to bring the port to 50 feet was complete in Q115, and the $1.3 billion Bayonne Bridge Navigational Clearance Program that is raising the roadway to create an air draft clearance of 215 feet will be completed by 2016. These two projects will allow the port to handle the larger vessels anticipated to be coming through the expanded Panama Canal.
• The Port Authority is a self-supporting entity and does not receive tax revenue. Instead, its revenue is derived from fees charged for bridge tolls, user fees at airports and bus terminals, rail transit system fares, rent, consumer services and retail stores.
• Every terminal at the port has the capacity to handle containerized freight. The port has 32 Post-Panamax cranes spread across its six terminals, and two container terminals have Super Post-Panamax cranes already installed. These cranes have the ability to serve the largest vessels afloat, with a reach of 22 containers across.
• The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is the grantee of Foreign Trade Zone No. 49 comprising 4,536 acres. The total value of merchandise received and forwarded through FTZ No. 49’s general purpose and subzone sites in 2012 was $30.3 billion and included everything from auto parts to orange juice.
• The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey owns, operates or manages most of the infrastructure needed to move goods from cargo terminals to end users. Railroad service to terminals includes, according to the Port Authority, the ExpressRail System, a comprehensive $600 million rail program at the Port of New York and New Jersey. The program has created dedicated rail facilities — and additional support track and rail yards — for each of the port’s major container terminals

The Port of New York and New Jersey is part of a series on the preparedness of U.S. ports for the Panama Canal expansion. Download an in-depth look at the port published by the NAIOP Research Foundation.