BOX VOLUME STILL FALLING AT PORT OF LONG BEACH

BOX VOLUME STILL FALLING AT PORT OF LONG BEACH    The port of Long Beach reported another monthly decrease in total container throughput, representing 10 percent for November, following the departure of Maersk Sealand in August to the competing port of Los Angeles.
   Throughput for November was 335,149 TEUs, down from 372,085 TEUs in November 2001.
   Inbound loaded containers were down 7 percent, to 179,463 TEUs, while outbound loaded boxes fell by 14 percent, to 64,946 TEUs.
   The port of Long Beach said that its terminals have continued to clear a post-lockout backlog from their yards.
   While admitting that the departure of Maersk Sealand has hit its box volume, the port said that volume from its remaining shipping lines jumped by 20 percent in November.
   On a like-for-like basis, the port’s terminals, without Maersk’s totals, saw a 21.4 percent gain in imports, a 17.6 percent jump in exports and a 18.7 percent increase in empties. In recent months, Hanjin, Pacific Container Terminal (home to China Ocean Shipping Co.) and International Transportation Service (home to “K” Line) have expanded their operations.
   For the first 11 months of 2002, including about seven months of Maersk Sealand operations, the port of Long Beach handled 2.27 million TEUs, 2 percent more than during the same period in 2001.