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Port of Mobile headed for busiest year on record

The container terminal is tracking more than 10 percent above its 2021 numbers, the terminal’s busiest full year to date.

Aerial image of the Port of Mobile.
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The Alabama Port Authority yesterday announced its container volumes at APM Terminals are on track for a record year. With 364,687 TEUs moved year-to-date, the container terminal is tracking more than 10 percent above its 2021 numbers, the terminal’s busiest full year to date. If the current pace of growth continues, the terminal could break half a million TEUs up to six weeks before it did last year.

“Our container volumes continue to grow because APM Terminal’s operations provide fluidity and reliability shippers can count on,” said Port Authority Director and CEO, John C. Driscoll. “With the terminal’s efficiency and options for cargo delivery via rail or interstate, the Port of Mobile is reducing shippers’ landed costs.”

In addition to strong container numbers, intermodal rail moves in August were up 125 percent over 2021 and refrigerated cargo was up 15.9 percent over the same period.

These numbers follow July’s record as the busiest month for containerized cargo in the history of the terminal. August is the Port’s eighth consecutive month to post double and triple-digit growth for overall throughput volume and intermodal rail volume, respectively. The terminal will expand its capabilities to one million TEUs upon completion of the Phase IV expansion set to come online in 2025.   

“As one of the newest, most modern container terminals in the United States, APM Terminals is proud to partner with the Port of Mobile to deliver for the State of Alabama, the region, and the world,” said Brian Harold, Managing Director at APM Terminals Mobile.

The Alabama Port Authority serves all 67 counties in the state of Alabama and has two major projects slated to open in 2025. The deepening and widening of the federal channel to a 50-foot depth will allow larger vessels to make Mobile their first port of call. Also in 2025, the Port Authority will open a new inland intermodal facility served by CSX in Montgomery, Ala. Both projects, in conjunction with increased growth at the Port’s container terminal, will provide new advantages and opportunities for shippers in Alabama and around the world.

The Port of Mobile is strategically located in the northern Gulf of Mexico with access to an international airport and two interstate systems, I-65 running north/south and I-10 running east/west. The intermodal container transfer facility (ICTF), which will be an on-dock facility by 2025, provides access to five Class I and four short-line railroads. From the ICTF in Mobile, containers can reach Chicago in three days.

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The Alabama Port Authority oversees the deep-water public port facilities at the Port of Mobile. In addition to interstate, air, and rail, the Port Authority’s container, general cargo, and bulk facilities have immediate access to nearly 15,000 miles of inland waterways. Once the channel deepening and widening project is completed, the Port of Mobile will be the deepest container terminal in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Alabama Political Reporter is a daily political news site devoted to Alabama politics. We provide accurate, reliable coverage of policy, elections and government.

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