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.
Last year, against which 2014 is being compared, was the third-busiest year in port history with a total of 6.73m teu.
With an ongoing US$4bn programme to modernise its facilities, the Long Beach continues to invest in long-term, environmentally sustainable growth.
Year-on-year volumes were also up at the neighbouring Port of Los Angeles, the United States’ busiest container port. In July 2014, overall volumes increased 0.25% compared to July 2013. Total cargo for July was 717,407 teu.
Container imports dropped 1.98%, from 370,745.55 teu in July 2013 to 363,393 teu this year. Exports rose 3.62% to 163,294 teu.
Combined, total loaded imports and exports decreased 0.31% to 526,688 teu. Empty containers increased 1.82% year on year.
For the first seven months of 2014, overall volumes (4,769,634 teu) have increased 7.75% compared to the same period in 2013.
