The Port of Virginia announced on Tuesday that it had its best February in its history for cargo volumes moved, and the port continues to move near-peak season volumes.

The port moved 228,151 twenty-foot equivalent units of cargo last month, or 127,596 total containers. That was a 4.3-percent increase compared to last year. Fiscal year 2019 to date is also up 3 percent with an increase of 23,042 containers, according to the press release.

This is partly thanks to the completion of all 13 new container stacks at Virginia International Gateway, raising the total number of stacks at the terminal to 28.

“This new capacity is quickly being integrated into the operation and The Port of Virginia is seeing positive results,” John Reinhart, chief executive officer and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority, stated in the press release. “Our turn-times for motor carriers continue to improve, there is better flow at our gates and our service levels are trending in the right direction.

“We are on-budget, on-time and we are already seeing the benefits as we approach the end of the project.”

The terminal’s 13 additional stacks are each served by two new rail-mounted gantry cranes, and the 15 original stacks are on schedule to be refurbished to “like-new” status throughout the year, according to the press release. Two of these refurbishments are already finished and three are under way.

The terminal has also nearly doubled its capacity for refrigerated cargo by increasing its 452 plugs to 888. The four massive ship-to-shore cranes that arrived in January are scheduled to be in service by the end of March, and the end of construction will be marked with the rail expansion’s completion slated for June 2019.

At Norfolk International Terminals, 12 new stacks are handling cargo, and the second phase of construction is under way. The new capacity has created efficiencies that are providing the port with breathing room, combined with the metered flow of cargo using the port’s Truck Reservation System, which had been implemented at the port one year ago as of March 1.

This is needed after managing the most difficult aspects of the expansion projects, the press release stated.

“We’ve started the shift from conservative growth during construction to an active, aggressive stance in terms of going after cargo, providing high levels of service and moving that cargo more efficiently than ever,” Reinhart stated.