THE Port of New Orleans handled 20 per cent more cargo in 2006 compared to the previous year despite a drop in container freight after the loss of a terminal caused by Hurricane Katrina, AP reported.

General cargo totalled 9.38 million tons last year, up 7.6 million tons in 2005 when harbour operations were disrupted for weeks due to Katrina. The 2006 total lagged behind the 2004 figure of 10.4 million tons.

The latest gain was due primarily to a 37 per cent increase in breakbulk cargo imports, such as steel, natural rubber and coffee, the port said. Container cargo dropped 14 per cent, mostly because of the loss of the container terminal after the storm.

For the state fiscal year that ended June 30, a period that included Katrina and its immediate aftermath, the port said it took in US$38.9 million - about 86 per cent of pre-Katrina figures.

The port sustained about $100 million in damage from Katrina and lost many of the businesses that operate on the Industrial Canal following the closure of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, the report said.

The port also registered the loss of about one-third of its operating capacity and the rerouting of cargo to other ports by several shipping lines due to Katrina.

Port President Gary LaGrange said the tasks ahead for the port include moving container capacity lost by the closure of the terminal to the Mississippi River.