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Port Industry Statistics

Downloadable Statistics (pdf) | Definitions Pertaining to Statistics

 

AAPA continuously receives requests on how ports rank nationally and internationally. The question is ambiguous, however, since ports can be compared in many different ways – by volume or value of trade, number of cruise passengers, revenues, and storage capacity, as examples.

Moreover, sheer size of a port, in terms of traffic flow, says nothing about productivity, efficiency, or responsiveness to customers. These are just some of the criteria that a shipper might consider in evaluating port performance. 

Statistics 

2023

2022

2020

2019

2018

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2016

2015

2014

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2012

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2007

Definitions Pertaining to Statistics

TEU = “Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit,” a standard linear measurement used in quantifying container traffic flows.  As examples, one twenty-foot long container equals one TEU while one forty-foot container equals two TEUs (i.e., 40'÷ 20' = 2).

TONS = A short (or “net’) ton = 2,000 pounds

  • A long ton = 2,240 pounds

  • A metric ton = 2,205 pounds

CONVERSION TABLE

TO CONVERT

INTO

MULTIPLY

Long Tons

Short Tons

1.12

Long Tons

Metric Tons

1.016

Metric Tons

Long Tons

0.9844

Metric Tons

Short Tons

1.1025

Short Tons

Metric Tons

0.907029

Short Tons

Long Tons

0.89287

VESSEL SERVICE:

Liner = cargo carried in vessels according to a fixed scheduled of routes and port calls.  Most containerized, as well as some breakbulk cargo, falls in this category.

Tramp = Dry cargo carried on chartered vessels.  Includes mainly dry bulks such as coal, grain, and fertilizers, as well as steel and, in some cases, autos.

Tanker = Bulk liquid cargo, such as crude oil, carried on tanker vessels.