West two major ports Los Angeles Port (LA) and Long Beach Port (LB) have released this year in August data.
Port of Los Angeles August container throughput for the first time in 13 months year-over-year growth
August this year, the container throughput of the Port of Los Angeles was 828000 TEU, an increase of 2.8 percent year-on-year. This is the port's first monthly year-on-year growth in 13 months. Among them, the import of heavy boxes increased by 7.3 to 433200 TEU, and the export of heavy boxes increased by 22.2 to 125000 TEU. In addition, the number of empty containers passing through the Port of Los Angeles fell 9.9 percent to 269800 TEU.
In particular, it is worth mentioning that in August, the port of Los Angeles container throughput of the port for the first time in 13 months of monthly year-on-year growth, and import and export heavy containers and monthly throughput have achieved year-on-year growth.
Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said at a media briefing that "August was a very stable month, with Port of LA's import and export business both increasing. Overall, global trade has been somewhat weaker this year, and this trend is expected to continue in the coming months. From an operational perspective, LA is well positioned to expand on demand."
Gene Seroka also noted that the International Terminals and Warehouses Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) recently approved a six-year contract, which restored customers' stability and confidence in deciding where to ship their goods.
said: "With this contract in force, by 2028 you can continue to rely on our dockworkers and operators to get cargo through the nation's busiest port. When we operate as we do now, there is no better option than LA. Freight volumes have risen 70 percent since February, the fourth straight month of growth. Although freight traffic is expected to decrease in July, I am optimistic that the performance in the second half of 2023 will improve compared with the previous six months."
Long Beach Port's August Container Throughput Growth Stalled
The Port of Long Beach handled 682300 TEU of containers in August, down 15.4 percent from a year earlier. Among them, imported heavy boxes fell 15.4 percent to 325400 TEU, while export heavy boxes fell 23.1 percent year-on-year to 93400 TEU. In addition, the number of empty containers passing through the Port of Long Beach fell 12.5 percent to 263500 TEUs.
In the first eight months of 2023, Long Beach Port's container throughput reached 4.9932 million TEU, down 24.4 percent.
The Port of Long Beach,, said LB ushered in the traditional "high season" as warehouses remained overstocked and consumers continued to turn to travel and other summer activities. LB's freight volume this year is roughly in line with pre-epidemic levels.
Mario Cordero, chief executive of the Port of Long Beach,, said: "We started to see signs of an uptick in freight volumes in the middle of the year, which was also the busiest month since last August. We look forward to more positive signs in the coming months." : "We expect a mild peak season as our freight volume continues to stabilize at pre-pandemic levels. In the longer term, we are strengthening our competitiveness by investing in digital and physical infrastructure projects that will maintain the efficient flow of goods for decades to come."
Port of Long Beach Commission Chairman Bobby Olvera Jr. "We are working with industry partners to increase market share while reliably and sustainably moving goods. We intend to end this year on a positive note, focusing on efforts to improve cargo flow and secure our position as the premier gateway for trans-Pacific trade," he said.
Source: Shipping Industry