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Table 1-3
U.S. Maritime Port Activity and Landside Traffic Delay Per Traveler in Surrounding Urban Area: 2003

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(dwt, millions)

Ranked by port calls by all vessel types Port State Port calls and capacity by all vessel types Overall maritime cargo tonnage (domestic and international) Landside annual traffic delay per traveler in surrounding urban area**
Calls Capacity (dwt, millions) Total short tons (millions) Rank by tonnage Hours of delay Rank
1 Los Angeles/Long Beach CA 5,130 265 121 4 93 1
2 Houston TX 4,857 212 191 2 63 5
3 New York NY 4,853 216 146 3 49 18
4 New Orleans LA 4,464 213 84 7 18 54
5 San Francisco Bay Area Ports1 CA 3,623 184 41 20 72 2
6 Philadelphia/Delaware River Ports2 PA 2,486 141 101 5 38 27
7 Savannah GA 2,087 88 23 31 NA NA
8 Charleston SC 2,024 85 25 29 25 45
9 Port Arthur TX 1,732 130 27 27 14 63
10 Baltimore MD 1,635 53 40 21 50 7
11 Virginia Ports3 VA 1,539 70 43 18 26 46
12 Columbia River Ports4 OR 1,505 54 46 17 39 26
13 Jacksonville FL 1,401 40 22 35 34 32
14 Miami FL 1,184 41 9 52 51 13
15 Tacoma WA 1,174 52 23 33 46 20
16 Texas City TX 1,101 70 61 10 63 5
17 Seattle WA 1,016 52 19 36 46 20
18 Corpus Christi TX 977 67 77 9 7 80
19 Port Everglades FL 921 32 23 32 NA NA
20 Tampa FL 769 26 48 16 46 20
21 Freeport TX 734 38 31 25 NA NA
22 Lake Charles LA 690 43 53 13 NA NA
23 Valdez AK 681 75 50 15 NA NA
24 Mobile AL 606 31 50 14 NA NA
25 Boston MA 583 25 25 30 51 13

KEY: dwt = deadweight tons; NA = Not available in the Texas Transportation Institute 2005 Annual Mobility Study.

*Annual delay per Traveler = Extra travel time for peak period travel during the year divided by the number of travelers who begin a trip during the peak period (6 to 9 am and 4 to 7 p.m.). These are compared to free-flow speeds (60 mph on freeways and 35 mph on principal arterials).

1 San Francisco Bay Area Ports (Oakland, Redwood City, Richmond, San Francisco, and Stockton)

2 Philadelphia/Delaware River Ports (Philadelphia, Paulsboro, Marcus Hook, Camden-Gloucester, Chester, and Wilmington)

3 Virginia Ports (Norfolk, Richmond, and Newport News)

4 Columbia River Ports (Portland, Longview, Vancouver, and Kalama)

SOURCES: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, based on: Ports calls data: Maritime Administration, Ports Calls Data, at www.marad.dot.gov as of May 23, 2007. Cargo weight data: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Waterborne Commerce Statistics Center, at http://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/ndc/wcsc/wcsc.htm as of May 23, 2007.

  • Traffic bottlenecks on the landside transportation system serving the nation’s seaports impact the ports’ performance and efficient movement of goods.
  • In 2003, the most recent year for which data on both port freight activity and landside traffic delay are available, the top seaports ranked by port vessel calls were the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The Los Angeles-Long Beach metropolitan area was also the top ranked urban area in terms of annual traffic delay per traveler, averaging about 93 hours of delay in 2003.
  • Growing traffic delays on the access routes serving the nation’s largest seaports combined with the rising volumes of inbound and outbound cargo may result in increased congestion in the surrounding communities.
Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) • U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT)
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