Container Volume Mixed at Southern California Ports
Volume at the neighboring Southern California ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles was mixed, with Long Beach’s rising to its busiest November since 2007 and Los Angeles’ declining the same month.
At the Port of L.A., container imports declined 2.7% to 333,153 20-foot-equivalent units for the month from a year ago, while exports dropped 16% to 150,568.
“U.S. exports have declined in 2014 due to weaker demand abroad and a stronger U.S. dollar, which makes U.S. goods more expensive,” the port said in a Dec. 17 statement.
Total container volume at the L.A. port declined 3% to 663,346 TEUs from a year ago. For the first 11-months of the year, overall volume increased 6.5% to 7.2 million TEUs.
The Port of Long Beach reported cargo volume increased 2.1% to 581,514 TEUs. Exports declined 14.5%, imports dipped 0.9% and empty containers increased 30.2% to 157,570.
Year to date, cargo has increased 1.7% at the port of Long Beach.
Ports in South Carolina reported an 8% increase in container volume in November. TEU volume increased to 144,218, the S.C. Ports Authority said Dec. 17. Year to date, container volume increased 14%.
“As measured year-over-year, our monthly pier container volume has seen nine consecutive months of double-digit growth,” Jim Newsome, CEO of SCPA, said in a statement. “This broad-based growth reflects strength of both imports and exports, although we will likely see volumes settle over the next few months.”
The Maryland Port Administration announced container volume in October increased to 46,827 TEUs, setting a record for the most containers handled in a single month. Year to date, volume increased 10.3%.
