Growth evident in Southern California

Total cargo container numbers rose 3.7% in July at the Port of Long Beach compared to the same month last year, making for the Southern California seaport’s busiest July since 2010.

A total of 583,060 teu were moved through Long Beach in July. Of these, 297,615 teu were imports, which rose slightly by 0.9%. Exports declined 6.2% to 124,126 teu. Empty containers escalated 19.5% to 161,319 teu.

The relatively flat import numbers in July came after a surge in June 2014, when retailers were stocking up for back-to-school shopping. Through the first seven months of 2014, container cargo traffic is up 2.7% at the port, signalling that the economy is continuing to grow.