Container volumes at the Port of New York and New Jersey returned to more typical levels in April after the port ranked as the busiest U.S. container gateway in March.
The port handled 688,163 TEUs (377,105 containers) in April, down 8.4% from 751,194 TEUs in the same month last year. Year-to-date throughput reached 2.87 million TEUs, a 3% decline compared with the first four months of 2025.
Import volumes totaled 340,365 TEUs in April, falling 12% year-on-year. Through April, imports reached 1.44 million TEUs, down 4.3%.
Exports remained relatively stable. Loaded export volumes slipped 0.4% to 121,258 TEUs in April. However, January-April exports increased 2.7% year-on-year to 475,438 TEUs.
Export empty containers declined 6.7% in April, while rail traffic fell 8.5% to 54,538 containers. Despite the monthly decline, year-to-date rail volumes were 2.4% higher than the same period in 2025.
The port also handled 28,013 vehicles in April, a 7% decrease from a year earlier. Auto volumes for the first four months of 2026 were 8.2% below the corresponding period of 2025.
