May 21, 2026
Port of New York and New Jersey container volume was up 6.9% in March
The Port of New York and New Jersey was the nation's busiest cargo gateway in March. This uptick was boosted by a late February blizzard, which delayed many vessels scheduled to call on the port in February and pushed their arrivals to March.
Total volume for March was near record highs at 837,993 TEUs (457,008 containers), up 6.9 percent from 783,732 TEUs (430,141 containers) the previous year. This number brings our total to 2,177,694 TEUs (1,191,640 containers) for the first quarter of the year, a 1.2 percent decrease from the same period in 2025.
Imports rose by 11.4 percent in March, totaling 425,453 TEUs (232,660 containers) and 381,791 TEUs (210,716 containers) in March 2025. Imports at the Port of New York and New Jersey for the first quarter reached 1,099,245 TEUs (603,215 containers), a 1.6 percent decrease from the 1,117,341 TEUs (617,313 containers) imported in the same period of 2025.
A total of 138,471 TEUs (74,017 containers) were exported in March, up from 134,966 TEUs (72,197 containers) recorded the previous year, a 2.6 percent increase. During the first quarter of the year, the Port of New York and New Jersey exported 354,180 TEUs (189,157 containers), a 3.9 percent increase from the 341,007 TEUs (182,375 containers) recorded in the first three months of 2025.
Rail volume surged 37 percent from the previous year's March figure, totaling 80,914 containers. Rail volume for January through March was 20.8 percent higher than the same period in 2025.
A total of 35,044 autos moved through the Port of New York and New Jersey in March; a 7.5 percent decrease compared with the previous year. Auto volume for the first quarter of the year was 8.6 percent less than in the same period of 2025.
Source: Port of New York and New Jersey