Philly’s port saw record container volume last year — but some warn it’s losing business to competitors
Even as stakeholders celebrated that milestone, members of the board that governs Philadelphia's port authority cautioned that competitor ports in Wilmington, Del., and Baltimore aren’t letting up.
A record volume of container cargo passed through the Port of Philadelphia last year, officials said Wednesday, continuing a decade-long growth trend.
Even as stakeholders celebrated that milestone, members of the board that governs the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority cautioned that competitor ports in Wilmington, Del., and Baltimore aren’t letting up.
The Philadelphia port handled about 841,000 shipping container units in 2024, up 13% over the prior year, according to the port authority, an independent state agency known as PhilaPort that owns seaport facilities from Port Richmond to South Philly and leases them to private operators.
“These stats are very good, but there [are] a lot of things happening in the marketplace close by Philadelphia,” Sean Mahoney, PhilaPort’s marketing director, said during a board meeting Wednesday.
Container volume has been trending up at the port since 2015, driven by increased trade with Central and South America, as well as Australia and New Zealand, according to the port authority.
During that time period, public and private investment in port facilities — as well as the deepening of the Delaware River — has boosted the port’s capacity to accommodate bigger ships and handle more cargo. The port supports 12,100 jobs across its facilities, according to PhilaPort.
The port authority says perishable products such as fruits and meats make up more than 30% of the port’s imports that are transported on containers, the standardized metal boxes that drive global maritime trade.
In a strategic plan unveiled in the fall, PhilaPort said it expects container volume to reach almost 1.6 million units by 2040.
Philadelphia’s container growth tracked closely with competitor ports such as New York/New Jersey (12%), and outperformed Norfolk, Va. (8%), according to data tracked by PhilaPort. Nationally, the 10 biggest U.S. container ports saw 14.7% growth in the 12 months ending in November, according to a report by John D. McCown, a shipping expert.
Port authority officials also said Wednesday that the port imported a record of almost 282,000 automobile units last year, up 9% from 2023. PhilaPort’s Southport auto terminal is operated by Glovis America, an affiliate of South Korea-based Hyundai Motor Group.
Boise Butler, a PhilaPort board member and president of the International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1291, warned that the port’s annual growth figures don’t capture the day-to-day competition for cargo. “We’re losing work over here,” he said, motioning toward the Tioga Marine Terminal outside PhilaPort’s headquarters in Port Richmond.
He added that paper shipments that typically go to Pier 80 in South Philadelphia have been diverted to competitors down the river. “We have ships on almost a weekly basis that we’re losing here,” Butler said.
Board chairman Michael Pearson, an appointee of Gov. Josh Shapiro, said the port has reached a “pivotal point where we have alignment with our state government and local government, where they realize to stay competitive, there are certain things we have to do.”