Largest US Port

[greeng13]

I have seen many posting that New Orleans is the nation's largest port.

Just a little Info:


http://www.aapa-ports.org/Katrina/cargo_volume_stats.xls

http://www.aapa-ports.org/Katrina/cruise_stats.xls

http://www.aapa-ports.org/Katrina/container_stats.xls

http://www.marad.dot.gov/MARAD_statistics/2005%20STATISTICS/Import-2003.xls

http://www.rednova.com/news/display/?id=233660&source=r_technology

Quote from link above: "New Orleans is actually part of a string of ports in south Louisiana, stretching from Baton Rouge to the mouth of the Mississippi.

Together, they made up the largest U.S. port in 2003 and the fifth-biggest global port, according to the American Association of Port Authorities."

http://www.rednova.com/news/display/?id=234456&source=r_technology

Quote from link above: "The Port of New Orleans ranks as the country's fifth-largest port in terms of short tons of cargo handled. It's a major import and export gateway for corn, soybeans, coffee, steel, rubber and other commodities. "



I'm not so sure that New Orleans is the nation's largest port as many people keep saying it is. As a string of ports...the New Orleans area is...but by itself...it is not.

I am not saying that Katrina did not knock out a vital link to goods in our country but I just wish people would get some facts straight.

[USCG_Hurricane_Watcher]

The Port of New Orleans is not a geographic-specific term...It's just like Charleston Ports Authority...CPA does not consist solely of the Columbus Street Terminal downtown, correct? It also inlcudes Wando and the soon-to-be Daniel Island Terminal, plus any pending expansion to the old naval base.

You're comparing apples to oranges...I don't thnik they're talking about geographic size. When you rank ports, you do so in terms of tons of goods being exported or imported, passanger capacity per year (annual), and value of the commodities being handled.

The only thing I would question is how NOLA ranks against LA/Long Beach, but other than that, I wouldn't argue NOLA is one of the largest ports, when you consider not only Mississippi River traffic off-loading in NOLA, imports, cruise industry, the expansive oil drilling and refining operations (large fleet of OSV's that support the hundreds of offshore oil platforms), government vessels, and of course, the numerous shipbuilding operations in the area.

[alicia-w]

According to this article, the Port of South Louisiana is the largest port in the US.

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/HurricaneKatrina/story?id=1078357&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

[greeng13]

Good points USCGWatcher.

Alicia-w I looked and never came across that article.

I agree that as a "combination" it is the largest. I thought it was a "geographic-based term". Let's just say I have learned something. I always thought it was like 4th or 5th in the nation. As it turns out (a bit of a surprise to me) it is more like 4th or 5th in the world.

[Stratosphere747]

Good points USCGWatcher.

Alicia-w I looked and never came across that article.

I agree that as a "combination" it is the largest. I thought it was a "geographic-based term". Let's just say I have learned something. I always thought it was like 4th or 5th in the nation. As it turns out (a bit of a surprise to me) it is more like 4th or 5th in the world.

Not so....

Technically LA is the largest port in the States, 6th in the world and not even close to the largest world ports. The largest ports in the far east, including China dwarf our ports.

I'll have to dig up the correct info for you.

Scott

[USCG_Hurricane_Watcher]

This may clear it up some...Granted, the data is from 2003 (source: http://geography.about.com/cs/transportation/a/aa061603.htm)

Also, this is on the international level, I'll see if I can (1) dig up some current info and (2) find a similar ranking for US ports.

Busiest Ports in the World
From Matt Rosenberg,

Jun 14 2003

It is difficult to rank ports to determine which ones are the "busiest" because you can consider many factors - the weight of the goods, the number of ships, or the number of containers moved. Most port associations rank ports according to volume and number of TEUs.
TEU stands for "Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit;" containers are counted in 20-foot lengths. A twenty-foot container counts as one TEU while a forty-foot container counts as two TEUs.

Many ports are located at transhipment or break-of-bulk points. The top container ports are in Southeast Asia, Northwest Europe, and the West Coast of the United States. These locations reflect the patters of global trade between locations fo production and consumption.

Below are listings of the top ten ports by volume and TEUs, according to the American Association of Port Authorities. Four ports appear on both listings. Links lead you to English language web sites for the ports (when available).


Busiest Ports By Volume
1. Singapore
2. Rotterdam, Netherlands
3. South Louisiana, U.S.A.
4. Shanghai, China
5. Hong Kong, China
6. Houston, U.S.A
7. Chiba, Japan
8. Nagoya, Japan
9. Ulsan, South Korea
10. Kwangyang, South Korea


Busiest Ports By Containers (TEUs)
1. Hong Kong, China
2. Singapore
3. Pusan, South Korea
4. Kaohsiung, Taiwan
5. Rotterdam, Netherlands
6. Shanghai, China
7. Los Angeles, U.S.A.
8. Long Beach, U.S.A.
9. Hamburg, Germany
10. Antwerp, Belgium

[Lindaloo]

Pascagoula is now the main port. Everything is running smoothly and Chevron/Texaco is back online. They had some damage but the dam they had built saved them from damage like they had during Georges in 98.

Northrop Grumman sustained alot of damage.

[USCG_Hurricane_Watcher]

Northrop Grumman sustained alot of damage.

Good heavens!!! You or your family don't work for them, do you?