Source: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Container Traffic Handled by the Port of New York, 1991-2011

While the New York metropolitan area houses 20 million people, an extra 80 million can be reached within 24 hours, making the direct market area of the port of New York the largest in North America and one of the most extensive in the world. The market advantage of New York is thus significant since within 700 miles of the port resides about 55% of the U.S. population. Under such circumstances, the late 1990s saw a spectacular growth of container traffic for New York, on par with the significant growth the American economy was experiencing. The port was able to maintain its rank among the 15 largest container ports in the world with a traffic of 5.5 million TEUs in 2011. Its national share has also improved since 2000 as the Port of New York / New Jersey accounted for 13.5% of all containers handled by American ports and for 59% of all containers on the North Atlantic coast. Still, there are signs that the growth of container traffic may have reached a phase of maturity.