Box traffic at Auckland rose 0.4 per cent in its fiscal year ending June 30, while rival Tauranga volume was up 12 per cent, closing the gap with the nation's largest container gateway.
The change was made possible after Maersk Line last year switched its New Zealand-Malaysia service to Tauranga.
The decision to shift services came after Kotahi, a New Zealand logistics firm, promised to ship 2.5 million TEU over the next decade, with 1.8 million TEU moving through Tauranga port, reported Newark's Journal of Commerce.
Volume through the Ports of Auckland hit 972,434 TEU in fiscal year 2014, while Tauranga's traffic grew to 851,106 TEU over the same time frame, according to statistics from both ports.
"Our container terminal is the most efficient in Australasia, with record productivity this year," said Ports of Auckland CEO Tony Gibson in a statement. "We continue to be New Zealand's largest container port and a vital part of Auckland's prosperity."
The Kotahi deal shook the country's port environment, leading to a number of efforts by both Auckland and Tauranga to boost their competitiveness.
Auckland is partnering with the Toll Group to operate an inland port in Tauranga's territory. Meanwhile, to handle 6,500-TEU vessels, Tauranga is dredging its outer harbour from 42.3 feet to 51.8 feet, while the inner harbour will be deepened from 42.3 feet to 47.6 feet.
As for Auckland it is also adding 164 feet to its wharf at the Fergusson Container Terminal and will also build the new Fergusson North Wharf, to extend the existing berth by 50 per cent. The port may even automate some of its operations to hang on to its productivity lead over Tauranga.
