Port of L.A.’s Exports Hit Record
Year-over-year container traffic at the Port of Los Angeles surged 16% last year, led by a record number of exports, the port said.
Exports rose 10.3% to 1.84 million twenty-foot equivalent units, compared with 1.67 million TEUs in 2009 and the previous container export record of 1.78 million TEUs in 2008.
Imports increased 12.8% to 3.97 million TEUs, from 3.52 million TEUs in 2009. The port handled 7.8 million TEUs last year and remains the nation’s busiest trade gateway in terms of container volume.
The gains “far surpass[ed] our initial estimates and we’ve been able to facilitate some export opportunities in the past year through our TradeConnect initiative,” said the port’s executive director, Geraldine Knatz.
The port “increased networking with local business stakeholders [and] want to continue that momentum and work with local business entities to advance the President’s National Export Initiative agenda,” she said in a statement.
