THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 16, 1997 TAG: 9701160294
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 55 lines
For the third consecutive year, the port of Hampton Roads handled a record amount of general cargo in 1996, sustaining it as one of the East Coast's busiest cargo ports.
More than 9.5 million tons of cargo was shipped across the docks at the region's five marine cargo terminals in 1996, said Joseph A. Dorto, chief executive and general manager of Virginia International Terminals Inc., which manages the state-owned docks.
He projected the port's cargo volume will grow about 4 percent in 1997, which should put it at about 10 million tons.
The final figures for 1996 will be released by the Virginia Port Authority in two weeks, but Dorto said the cargo volumes grew about 6 percent from 1995's nearly 9.1 million tons.
The last down year for the port was 1993, when recession was slowing economies in Europe and Asia.
Dorto's comments came in his annual ``State of the Port'' speech to the Hampton Roads Foreign Commerce Club. He took a moment to dedicate 1996 to Bill White, a 30-year employee of the Virginia Port Authority, who is very ill. White was national sales manager.
``Right to the end, even though he was very sick, Bill came to work every day,'' Dorto said. ``He was extremely dedicated to the port.''
The port's continuing growth last year hinged largely on container volume, which grew 8.5 percent, Dorto said. Containers are the truck-sized metal boxes in which most goods are shipped. They can be readily moved between ships, rail cars and truck chassis.
Some of the container business came from economic growth worldwide, especially in major markets such as Europe and South America. Other growth came from the ongoing consolidation among shipping lines that has helped some ports at the expense of others.
Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston and New York have slipped or stagnated as Hampton Roads has grown because of its rail connections, a naturally deep harbor, easy access to the open ocean and stable labor force, Dorto said.
A new labor contract negotiated in 1996 with the International Longshoremen's Association guarantees five more years of stability. It will help the port remain competitive with other ports on the East and West coasts. The port employs about 2,000 area longshoremen and thousands of others are employed in port-related jobs.
The only down news was the port's continuing loss of valuable break-bulk cargo in 1996. Break-bulk cargos include rubber, cocoa beans and fruit, which are shipped on pallets or in baskets.
``A lot of ports have made the concession that we're going to get the containers,'' Dorto said. ``They have not made the concession that we're going to get the break-bulk.''
The revenue from handling and warehousing break-bulk cargo helps the port compete for containers, Dorto said. The port plans to pursue such cargo in 1997, he said.
KEYWORDS: PORT CARGO TERMINAL