BOX TRAFFIC SWITCHES FROM LONG BEACH TO PORT OF LOS ANGELES

BOX TRAFFIC SWITCHES FROM LONG BEACH TO PORT OF LOS ANGELES    A share of the container traffic of Long Beach has moved to the competing, neighboring port of Los Angeles.
   In September, the port of Los Angeles handled 22 percent more containers than a year earlier, whereas Long Beach suffered a 14-percent fall in box traffic.
   The contrasting results of the two large Californian ports follow the switch by Maersk Sealand, the world’s largest container shipping line, from Long Beach to Los Angeles. Maersk moved into the new 343-acre Pier 400 container terminal in Los Angeles in August.
   In September, total box traffic at Los Angeles climbed to 589,242 TEUs, from 484,654 TEUs a year ago. Loaded inbound containers totaled 320,577 TEUs, an increase of 20 percent. Loaded outbound boxes were 89,503 TEUs, up 9 percent.    Empty containers handled by the port of Los Angeles rose by 32 percent, to 179,161 TEUs.
   In Long Beach, the total number of containers handled fell to 340,339 TEUs in September, from 388,379 TEUs. Loaded imports were down 14 percent, to 188,874 TEUs. Loaded outbound boxes declined by 30 percent, to 53,924 TEUs. The number of empty containers rose by 7 percent, to 97,541 TEUs.
   Combined, the total container traffic of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in September was 929,581 TEUs, an increase of 6 percent from September of 2001.