Port Director Ken Krauter attributes the revenue growth to significant increases in the Port's containerized cargo and petroleum sectors. Revenue is up nearly $1.5 million from $47,411,832 in FY2002 to $48,860,597 in FY2003, which has exceeded projections. The Port, which is governed by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners, exceeded budget by $911,031 for this time period.

"Several new carriers calling on our multi-user terminals are responsible for the increases we are seeing in containerized cargo," Krauter says. "In addition, the Port's diversified revenue segments contribute to the Port's overall success."

Containerized cargo revenue grew by 8.6 percent over the same time period in FY2002 from $8,065,362 to $8,761,895 -- a $696,533 increase. Tonnage is up by 2.6 percent from 1,767,066 in the first half of FY2002 to 1,812,733 tons in FY2003. TEUs (20-foot equivalent units - the industry's standard for measuring containerized cargo) are up 0.5 percent from 283,421 in the first six months of FY2002 to 284,915 TEUs in FY2003. The Port's containerized cargo business has grown due to calls from several new carriers including: CSAV (Compañía Sudamericana de Vapores), a Chilean publicly traded shipping company that is the largest and oldest carrier in Latin America; Hamburg Süd, the largest privately owned shipping company in Germany; APL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines; CCNI (Compañía Chilena de Navegación Interoceánica), a 73-year-old Chilean worldwide cargo shipping company; and CMA-CGM, the largest containerized-liner shipping company in France and one of the largest in the world.

Petroleum, which is measured by the number of barrels, grew by 4.4 percent in the first half of FY2003 from 57,369,355 barrels to 59,914,289. Revenue is up 4.6 percent from $9,434,454 in FY2002 to $9,870,756 during the same time frame in FY 2003. Port Everglades is South Florida's distribution center for petroleum and its byproducts - gasoline, jet fuel, fuel oil, diesel fuel, propane, aviation gasoline, turbo fuel, crude oil and asphalt - supplying nearly 20 percent of all counties in Florida.

Cruise revenues remained steady at approximately $15.5 million in the first half of FY2003 in spite of a travel economy that has been affected in other sectors. The number of cruise passengers decreased by 4 percent in the first half of the year from 2,009,942 in FY2002 to 1,929,633 in FY2003.

The Port Everglades Department is a self-supporting Enterprise Fund of Broward County, Fla., that does not rely on tax dollars. The Port provides more than 10,000 direct jobs and generates $1.7 billion in business activity and $545 million in personal income annually in Broward County.

More information on Port Everglades is available on the Internet at www.broward.org/port or by calling (954) 523-3404.