May was the Port of Virginia’s most productive month of 2013, according to the Virginia Port Authority.

Last month, the port handled 191,368 total TEUs (20-foot equivalent containers), up 7.2 percent on May 2012, the authority stated in a news release.

Export TEUs, at 103,217, were up 5.4 percent, and 88,150 import TEUs represented a 9.3 percent increase on the same month in 2012.

Meanwhile, cargo volumes this calendar year-to-date are 6.3 percent ahead of where they were at the same point in 2012; volume growth has been the best in the port’s history.

“In a historical comparison, May was the fourth-best month in our history in terms of TEU volume,” said Rodney W. Oliver, the Virginia Port Authority’s interim executive director.

“On a fiscal year-to-date basis, the 11 months of fiscal 2013, through May, add up to be the best fiscal-year performance in our history. We’re expecting this to continue as more ocean carriers are expressing interest in our deep-water and rail connections.”

Meanwhile, the authority reports the port set a new record for rail boxes handled in a single month, with 39,152 containers moved by rail in May. The previous record, 37,478, had been set in November 2012.

The proportion of cargo moving by rail also reached a high in May, according to the authority, with 35.3 percent.