The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has published a 30-year master plan that it said seeks to maximize and diversify land use, unlock freight network capacity and identify innovative revenue opportunities across its marine facilities.

The port handled a record 3,041,814 TEUs (20 ft equivalent units) during the first five months of 2019. Container demand at port authority facilities is expected to grow from 7.2 million TEUs in 2018 to as much as 17 million TEUs by 2050.

The Bayonne Bridge was raised to accommodate larger ships calling at New Jersey ports. Credit: PANYNJThe port initially will focus on maximizing past investments that include deepening the harbor and raising the Bayonne Bridge so that larger ships can pass beneath it.

Beginning in the mid-2030s, implementation of the port authority’s long-term vision is expected to start with potential new investment at sites where it has container terminals and intermodal railyards.

One problem that the port's master plan seeks to address is that most container cargo is headed for distribution facilities located in New Jersey. However, the majority of people in the New York metropolitan area live in New York City or other areas east of the Hudson River. As a result, truck traffic can jam bridges and tunnels that cross the Hudson River between the two states.

The port authority said that one of its long-term goals is to attract discretionary cargo that could move through competing ports. Achieving that growth goal means that the New York and New Jersey ports facilities need to compete on price and service reliability with other Atlantic Coast ports.

Leading ports

According to the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey handled 135.9 million tons of cargo in 2017. That placed it third in the U.S. behind the Port of South Louisiana (275.1 million tons of cargo) and the Port of Houston (260.1 million tons).

The newly released master plan contemplates container cargo growth through 2050. Credit: Wikipedia/Captain Albert E. Theberge, NOAA Corps (ret.)The Port of South Louisiana sprawls for 54 miles along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge and is one of the largest tonnage port districts in the western hemisphere. Around 60% of all raw grain exports from the U.S. pass through its port facilities.

Roughly 45% of all cargo tonnage was handled by ports in Louisiana and Texas in 2017. By contrast, around 5.7% was handled by New York and New Jersey port facilities.

The New York and New Jersey Port Authority was established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorized by the U.S. Congress. Through its broad mandate, it oversees bridges, tunnels, airports and seaports within a 25-mile radius of the Statue of Liberty.

The port authority operates the Port Newark–Elizabeth Marine Terminal as well as six bi-state crossings: three connecting New Jersey with Manhattan and three connecting New Jersey with Staten Island. The Port Authority Bus Terminal, the PATH rail system; and LaGuardia Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, Teterboro Airport and Stewart International Airport all are run by the agency as well.

Heavy lift

During 2018 the port made 646,000 container lifts at four intermodal terminals, which combined have a capacity to handle 1.5 million containers. The plan said the port authority may lift from 1.5 million to 2.8 million containers. As a result, a need may arise over the next 30 years to expand staging tracks and track lengths to support longer unit trains.

Short-sea shipping or “marine highways” also may increasingly move cargo to and from the port’s terminals. To that end, the port authority said it made regional barge service one of its strategic initiatives. Commodities such as beverages, wood, paper, rubber, iron and steel have been identified as well suited for distribution via the marine highway.

The plan said that international cargo moving through port authority container terminals is focused on a cluster of warehousing and distribution centers located along the New Jersey Turnpike. In 2005, a study showed 66% of cargo volume trucked from the port was destined for distribution centers in four New Jersey counties. By 2017 that share had grown to 79%. Over the same period, the amount of cargo moving directly to destinations east of the Hudson River (New York City and beyond) fell from around 10% in 2005 to less than 5% in 2017.

The plan said that although it may not be able to affect the location of warehousing and distribution center activity, it will work to minimize truck trips in and around the port and optimize interstate access.