Regional Economic Benefits

photo of a Port Authority police officer

Seaports don't get the public attention they once did. That's understandable - not much cargo moves today in old-fashioned freighters that tie up at a pier near a city's business district. But it's also unfortunate. More than 90 percent of global trade still moves in ships.

That includes plenty of things that are part of everyday life. Look at the labels in your clothes: The countries of origin may range from China to Zambia. Your orange juice could just as easily have come from Brazil by ship as from Florida by truck. The car you drive, your TV, your DVD player, that German beer or French wine - all these, and many other goods, come through the Port of New York and New Jersey every day. And a wide range of goods made by American businesses go through the Port every day on their way overseas.

The port supports more than 230,000 jobs directly and indirectly, many of them increasingly scarce high-quality, blue collar jobs. That's more than $12 billion in annual wages.

The port generates more than $2 billion in annual tax revenues to state and local governments.

The Port of New York and New Jersey is the largest port on the East Coast of North America, and the third-largest in the nation, behind only Los Angeles and Long Beach, CA.