Cargo Container Volume Mixed at Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach

 

The amount of cargo containers handled by the nation’s busiest port complex was mixed last month, according to newly released figures.

The Port of Los Angeles in August saw overall volume increase 6.7% compared to the same time last year. Total cargo for August was 757,702 twenty-foot equivalent units, the busiest single month at the port since August 2010.

The increased volume reflects peak season volumes and larger vessels calling at facility, according to port officials.

Container imports increased 7.8% in August versus a year earlier, while exports rose 6.16% during the same time. For the first eight months of the year overall volume increased 7.61% compared to the same period in 2013.

Meantime, container cargo shipments declined by 9.1% in August at the Port of Long Beach, reflecting both early shipping by importers this year and the comparison to an August last year that was the Port’s busiest month since 2007.

A total of 573,083 TEUs were moved through the port in August. Imports dropped 8.2% while exports declined 17.7%.

“The downturn last month followed a surge in Long Beach from April through June 2014, when retailers shipped their products early ahead of the expiration of the longshore contract at the end of June,” said facility officials.“Last year’s August was very busy and started off the typical August through October ‘peak season.’ That peak season may have occurred earlier this year.”

The first eight months of 2014 saw a 1% increase in volume. Last year, against which 2014 is being compared, was the third-busiest year in port history with a total of 6.73 million TEUs.