The State Ports Authority says it had “mixed, yet balanced results” in its fiscal year ending June 30, highlighted by better-than-expected showings in the number of containers it moved by rail and the amount of bulk and breakbulk cargo.
The Ports Authority’s announcement omitted mention of its actual financial results. That information will be including in an annual report filed later this year by the state auditor.
Last year’s report showed an annual operating loss of $58,904, along with a $49.7 million increase in the authority’s net capital position, driven mainly by state appropriations. Revenue was about $77 million in 2022-23.
Executive Director Brian Clark said the authority had “a record year for intermodal volume” in 2023-24, with some 17,000 containers moving by rail, 13% more than budgeted.
Wilmington and Morehead City also handled about 4.2 million tons of bulk and breakbulk goods, about 5% more than expected. It was less than the nearly 4.6 million tons in the previous fiscal year. That was a record for the ports, which are an agency of the N.C. Department of Transportation.
“Both ports handled substantial volumes of natural rubber, steel, lumber, cement, wood chips and wood pellets, supporting everything from U.S. infrastructure, aerospace and the region’s growing automotive industry,” the authority said.
It acknowledged headwinds from “global industry challenges in the container market” but said the addition of new service from Central America helped.
The ports are trying to add to their capacity in various ways. One such project is a new rail year that when finished will be able to support 50,000 container movements a year.
The by-rail numbers understate the ports’ total container traffic, given that only 9% or so of it moves by train.
Last year’s report published by the auditor said the authority moved 171,063 containers total in fiscal 2022-23. Annual moves have been in the general neighborhood of 150,000 containers for the last half-decade.
