The port industry of New York and New Jersey supported 580,000 total jobs, accounted for nearly $18.1 billion in tax revenue, and generated $57.8 billion in personal and $163.7 billion in business income in 2024, according to a new economic impact study.
These findings were released Thursday by the Shipping Association of New York and New Jersey, an employer organization representing terminal operators, ocean carriers, stevedores and marine-related businesses that operate the ships, move the cargo, and train and employ the longshore workers in the Port of New York and New Jersey.
The report, conducted by the Rutgers University Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT), summarizes the ongoing economic value of port operations in 2024 for the 31-county New Jersey, New York-Pennsylvania Region, the states of New Jersey and New York, New York City, and a four-county area in eastern Pennsylvania.
Within the State of New Jersey, the port industry in 2024 supported:
- 232,000 direct New Jersey jobs
- 480,000 total New Jersey jobs
- Nearly $47 billion in personal income
- Almost $130 billion in business activity
- $5.2 billion in local and state tax revenues
The report also assessed the economic value associated with the hundreds of millions of public and private sector dollars invested in Port-related infrastructure from 2020-2024 and the $3.7 billion in public and private dollars expected to be invested over the next five years.
Cargo movements are returning to pre-pandemic seasonal patterns and levels, the report said, but new disruptions have emerged, including hostilities in Ukraine and the Middle East, along with tariffs and trade negotiations. However, even with continuously evolving conditions, the economic value generated by international cargo and passenger operations at the Port of New York and New Jersey has increased since 2022.
There has been job growth as well. The port industry employs 277,800 workers and supports another 302,200 indirect and induced jobs for a total of 580,000 jobs throughout the 31-county region, the study said. That is 16,300 more total jobs in 2024 than in 2022, when port operations supported 563,700 total jobs.
The Port of New York and New Jersey remains the largest container operation on the East Coast and the third largest port in the United States, the report said. In addition, an increased number of cruise passengers utilized the port in 2024, and the region’s industrial space continued to grow with millions of square feet added and occupied, according to the study.
In 2024, the region’s maritime facilities handled:
- Nearly 8.7 million 20-foot equivalent containers (TEUs)
- Over 410,000 vehicles
- Nearly 68,000 tons of breakbulk cargo and 36.1 million tons of bulk cargo
- 331 cruise vessels and nearly 2.4 million passengers
"The Port’s role in driving economic prosperity has been made possible through the significant multimodal investments—past, present, and planned—from both the public and private sectors,” said Anne Strauss-Wieder, Senior Freight and Logistics Researcher at Rutgers CAIT and a lecturer at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.
“These investments, along with strong collaboration, coordination, and communication among the port’s partners, customers, and suppliers, have enabled the port to grow and sustain its position as a key international trade gateway," Strauss-Wieder said.
Bethann Rooney, Port Director at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said the data underscores the Port of New York and New Jersey’s role as the “cornerstone of the regional economy.”
