Update: This version contains the current gate hours at the Port of Wilmington.

Because of a significant increase in container volume, the Port of Wilmington will extend its hours of operation, the N.C. State Ports Authority announced Friday.

Beginning Monday, the port’s south gate will be open from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. and will remain open during the lunch hour, the ports authority news release stated, adding that the longer hours are intended to ensure customers  “the best possible terminal efficiency and trucker productivity.”

Currently the container terminal gate is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the general cargo terminal gate is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Although the port gates will be open longer hours, there are no plans to add employees at the port, officials said, explaining that current staffing schedules will be adjusted.

Greg Fennell, the port’s chief commercial officer, said in an interview Friday that container volume at the port has grown by nearly 20 percent thus far in the 2015 fiscal year, compared with the same period in FY 2014. The state ports’ fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30.

The Port of Wilmington is one of the fastest-growing ports on the U.S. East Coast by container volume percentage, according to the release.

Fennell said that the uptick in container business stems partly from new alliances and vessel-sharing agreements among carriers.

“As ... allocations are shifted, carriers look to optimize revenues; they will shift some business around,” he said.

Fennell also thinks the quality of the port’s products and services have helped steer more business its way.

“We believe we have a product that is very cost efficient and cost effective," he said. "We’re proud of the fact that we have a price-competitive offering. We do provide the efficiencies that trucking and cargo companies expect. I truly believe those are the reasons we’ve seen an increase.”

A smaller factor in the volume increase, he said, may be diversions of container cargo to the East Coast as a result of prolonged labor disputes that have slowed cargo traffic and operations at 29 West Coast ports.

Congestion is always the enemy of efficiency, Fennell said, and it’s a “big issue at West Coast and some bigger ports.”

“Customers want to know they have a reliable, dependable service. It gives them a sense of confidence that they will be able to maintain their production and deliver the goods. Congestion and backlog interfere with that,” he said.

North Carolina ports CEO Paul Cozza, quoted in the release, cited the Port of Wilmington’s lack of congestion, efficient turn times and “unrivaled customer service” as important factors in the port’s growth in container volume.