America's Container Ports

The U. S. marine transportation system continues to handle large volumes of domestic and international freight in support of the nation's economic activities. The demand for freight transportation responds to trends in global economic activity and merchandise trade. When U. S. businesses produce more goods, the demand for freight transportation services to move raw materials and finished products to markets and customers around the country and world will increase. When economic conditions result in less production, the demand for transportation services will decrease. This report provides an overview of the movement of maritime freight handled by the nation's container seaports in 2008 and summarizes trends in maritime freight movement since 1995. It covers the impact of the recent U. S. and global economic downturn on U. S. port container traffic, trends in container throughput, concentration of containerized cargo at the top U. S. ports, regional shifts in cargo handled, vessel calls and capacity in ports, the rankings of U. S. ports among the world's top ports, and the number of maritime container entries into the United States relative to truck and rail containers. The report also presents snapshots of landside access to container ports, port security initiatives, and ongoing maritime environmental issues.