Port of Virginia’s FY2020 cargo volumes reflective of tariffs, pandemic-driven slowing of trade

The Port of Virginia’s® cargo volume was off by more than 181,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in fiscal year 2020, with the decrease attributable to the trade tariffs during the first half of the year and the ongoing impact on world trade of the COVID-19 virus through the year’s end.

The port completed FY20 (July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020) having handled 2.75 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), which is a volume decrease of 6.2 percent, when compared with FY19.
“Accurately measuring the results of a year turned upside-down by a pandemic is a significant challenge,” said John F. Reinhart, the CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority. “Total cargo volume and revenue are our usual primary metrics, but to get a true picture of what was accomplished in FY20, it is important to take into account our accomplishments beyond the numbers. As we looked more closely at the work we did prior to, and during the pandemic – and outside of our normal metrics -- we came away with a unique picture of success in a year of obstacles.”
During the first half of FY20, cargo volumes were flat at 1.48 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) when compared with the same period in FY19. The negative effects of the U.S.-China trade war were evident, but trade talks yielded some resolution on agriculture exports. The port entered January believing that once it got past the normal slowdown in trade that accompanies the Chinese New Year, volumes would increase. The rebound never came and trade slowed even more as the virus spread and began taking its toll on shipping and the global economy.