Posted on May 1, 2026
The Port Authority’s New York and New Jersey ports handled more cargo bound for stores and warehouses in March than any other port in the nation. If it is a product that consumers buy, drive, wear or eat — those items likely arrived by ship at the port.
The $100 million includes the purchase of 35 giant hybrid-powered straddle carriers, the massive machines that move and lift cargo containers on and off trucks. They’ll be repaired in a new high-tech maintenance building to keep them running. PNCT also purchased 54 near-zero-emission yard tractors.
“This $100 million is a down payment on where the port has to go next,” said Jim Pelliccio, PNCT president and CEO. “This maintenance facility is to support a much larger terminal.”
The investments were detailed during an event held inside the cavernous maintenance building by PNCT, Port Authority and union officials, who stood under a large Port Newark banner that read, “The future moves through here.”
Mayor Ras Baraka and International Longshoreman’s Association President Harold Daggett praised the improvements for keeping the port, workers and the community moving forward.
“Collectively, this is how economic development moves forward and does it in an environmentally friendly way,” Baraka said. “I am super excited about what is happening here. The port is the state’s jewel.”
One in four children in Newark has asthma because of particulate matter from diesel-powered trucks, trains and ships, he said.
Pelliccio said he understands the issue because he lives in Bayonne, where the asthma rate is the same.
PNCT is replacing 35 diesel-powered straddle carriers with hybrid-powered machines. Another 54 diesel-powered container yard tractors will be replaced with propane-powered vehicles. The terminal has an option to buy another 20 hybrids.
All-electric straddle cranes were ruled out for now for two reasons. The electric power grid needs upgrades in order to recharge the crane’s batteries, and even at a full charge, the batteries only last three hours, he said.
PNCT also received an award for a 7.2-megawatt solar panel network that generates 50% of the terminal’s power.
On a recent sunny day, the solar grid generated enough electricity to power the terminal by 1 p.m., and excess power went to the state electric grid, Pelliccio said. PNCT has an agreement with a solar company that built the system and sells electricity to the terminal.
“The expansion means more opportunity, more jobs, it means strong families and communities,” said Daggett, who got a standing ovation from workers. “To see it evolve to one of the great maritime facilities fills me with pride. I applaud your commitment.”
Union members collaborated with PNCT management on the design of the maintenance facility to allow all employees to work safely, he said.
The importance of the event was signified by Port Authority Board Chairman Kevin O’Toole, who said he turned down a chance to meet King Charles, who laid a wreath at the 9/11 Memorial on Wednesday.
“We’re putting in $4 billion to make sure this is the best port in the world,” O’Toole said of the partnership between the authority and port tenants.
Among that work is a $197.6-million reconstruction of two public berths at Port Newark that have been out of service for 20 years and $51 million in harbor and port projects by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to make the port ready for the next generation of larger vessels.
PNCT has big plans for a $1 billion expansion that includes adding 68 acres that are now vacant to the 310-acre terminal, Pelliccio said.
Waterfront berths on the east and west sides of the terminal will be rehabilitated to accommodate more ships, and a deep-water berth will be created in anticipation of the next generation of mega container ships.
The expansion includes building a bigger rail yard to put more containers on trains rather than on the road. That investment is scheduled to take place over the next four years, he said.
“We’re ready — we have initial permits on western berth, design is 99% done on rail yard and 80% on container yard,” he said. “We’re building excess capacity for the future.”
Also being investigated is whether new berths can include an environmental feature called shore-side power, where ships can plug into electric power and shut down diesel engines while docked.
Newark residents have requested that the Port Authority board install these systems to reduce air pollution when they appeared at several board meetings.
“It’s under discussion, how to prepare the new berths for the ability to ensure shore-side power,” Pelliccio said. “We recognize that any infrastructure we build will comply with the Port Authority’s zero emissions (policy).”
Port Newark, located in Newark Bay and within the larger port of New York and New Jersey, is “important as the first port of call off the Atlantic Ocean,” he said.
“It’s the largest gateway on the eastern coast of the U.S.,” Pelliccio said. “It’s a critical destination, serving a market of 30 million people. It’s constantly evolving.”
