Quest for Quality 2021: North American Ports

As executive editor Patrick Burnson has been reporting over the past two years, the North American container seaport sector endured a series of disruptions caused by the pandemic and the blockage of the Suez Canal, but is still handling more containers than ever.

For example, over the course of 2020 we watched the rapid re-emergence of China from initial lockdowns, combined with a surge in consumer durables demand and transport of medical supplies in the final quarter that meant total inbound handling at the top 30 North American ports shattered many records, according to data from global trade intelligence firm Panjiva.

“During the pandemic year, it was the largest ports that experienced the fastest growth, with imports to Newark/New York and Long Beach up by 8.1% and 8% respectively year over year in 2020,” says Burnson.

Meanwhile, Savannah and Houston saw volumes increase in 2020 by 3.4% and 2.2% through a mixture of investment in new facilities and successfully managing heavy weather conditions. “All things considered, it was quite a remarkable time for North American ports, with record volumes handled by most,” says Burnson.

And as we roll through 2021, those volumes remain strong, especially in the San Pedro Bay where Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach are hitting new volume highs. As group news editor Jeff Berman recently reported, for the month of June, the Port of Los Angeles posted a 26.8% annual TEU volume increase, marking the 11th straight month of annual increases.

And as volumes continue to grow, we’re happy report that, according to the readers of Logistics Management, the 12 North American ports listed in this category are hitting exceptionally high services levels and are walking away with Quest for Quality gold.

This year’s highest weighted score was the Port of Montreal in the Great Lakes Region with an impressive 48.02. In the always-bustling West Coast category this year, we find the Port of Vancouver, Canada, putting up a top mark with a 46.78 weighted score. Vancouver led the way in Ease of Doing Business (9.82), Value (9.75), Intermodal Network (8.56) and Equipment & Operations (9.59). Port of Oakland put up the top mark in the Ocean Carrier Network attribute category with a 9.11.