Alabama Port Authority Reports Continued Container Volume Growth At Port Of Mobile
Rapid container volume growth is continuing at the Port of Mobile in Alabama.
The Alabama Port Authority has released its February 2022 container volumes, increasing its refrigerated cargo by 54.2 percent over January 2022 volumes. Intermodal rail transfers experienced a 12.4 percent gain over the prior month’s volumes, handling 2,898 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs). In assessing February 2022 containerized cargo volumes over February 2021 volumes, containers rose 33 percent, refrigerated containers rose 80.9 percent, and rail intermodal transfers rose 148.2 percent.
“The Port of Mobile is rising to meet the market’s needs as demand for dynamic, on-time service grows nationwide, and shippers leverage optionality to increase competition,” said Beth Branch, chief commercial officer.
Continued port investment in 2022 through 2025 will continue to expand the port’s container intermodal capacity. The port and port stakeholders invested $124 million in the container terminal and in refrigerated cargo facilities in 2020. New investments in intermodal and freight infrastructure will be made, due in large part to U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) delivering $238 million in federal funding to the Port of Mobile, the Alabama Port Authority said in a news release.
One such project is the recently announced Montgomery, Ala., inland intermodal container transfer facility (ICTF). The Port Authority and CSX Transportation are investing $52 million due to record increase in intermodal rail transfers. The Montgomery ICTF will also re-establish regularly scheduled CSXT Intermodal rail service at the Port of Mobile and will provide a foundation to expand intermodal services further inland.
In addition to the Montgomery ICTF, earlier in the year, the state of Alabama announced the creation of the Alabama-USA Corridor, which is a $231.6 million program with Norfolk Southern to upgrade economic development infrastructure in central and southern Alabama. The A-USA Corridor initiative entails a 280-mile rail corridor that will serve in-state mega sites in Etowah, Shelby and Washington/Mobile counties, warehousing and intermodal rail service connections between Norfolk Southern’s McCalla Intermodal Facility near Birmingham, Ala., and the Port Authority’s container intermodal terminal assets at Mobile, Ala.
