A robust port, a robust economy
by Jessica Sabbath
Virginia Business
May 2007
As Americans’ appetite for foreign goods continues to grow, so has the size of cargo ships needed to satiate the demand. And it’s no wonder considering about 28 percent of the gross domestic product comes from international trade compared with 6 percent 50 years ago.
In Virginia, maritime leaders have
readied the state’s ports to absorb the booming international trade business with terminals featuring the world’s
largest cranes and a network of 240 warehouse and distribution
centers.
These are just a few of the projects we profile in our 2007 Hampton Roads Maritime and International Trade Guide. In these pages, Virginia Business explores multimillion-dollar projects that could help boost the Hampton Roads seaport into the No. 1 spot for trade on the East Coast.
The Port of Virginia continues to modernize its terminals with a new wharf, reconfiguration of the container yard and the addition of 219-foot cranes, able to handle ships 26 containers wide. Also on the drawing board are plans to develop a fourth, 600-acre terminal that should help Virginia in its quest to overcome the Port of New York and New Jersey as the largest port on the East Coast.
Shipping cargo is about to become easier, too. The $309 million Heartland Corridor rail project will cut a day off the travel time it takes for trains stacked two containers high to get to Midwestern markets.
TOP
TRADING PARTNERS |
Exports
1 United Kingdom $1,220.6*
2 China 1,073.1
3 Germany 946.9
4 Netherlands 898.3
5 Belgium 850.3
6 Japan 764.1
7 Saudi Arabia 710.3
8 Egypt 621.2
9 Brazil 599.0
10 France 556.9
Imports
1 China $4,561.6*
2 Germany 3,223.2
3 United Kingdom 2,286.2
4 Brazil 1,804.8
5 France 1,681.0
6 Italy 1,629.9
7 Japan 1,551.7
8 India 1,222.6
9 Spain 601.5
10 Netherlands 565.5
* In millions
of U.S. dollars for 2005 |
Throw in a new a $450 million world-class
private port operation under construction by APM Terminals,
and it’s easy to see why the Hampton Roads port
is becoming more formidable.
The guide also includes information on shipping lines, airports, port statistics, foreign trade zones and an international firm directory.
We’d like to thank the Virginia Port Authority, Virginia Maritime Association and the Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance for providing information for this guide. This is our continued effort to showcase a vibrant and growing port. Please contact us with comments or suggestions for next year.
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