Port of Long Beach sets monthly TEU throughput record

The 669,218 TEUs handled by Long Beach port terminals last month resulted in the busiest October ever for container traffic at the Southern California port.    Last month was the busiest October in the Port of Long Beach’s history, as container volumes surged 15 percent compared to the same month a year ago, according to newly released data from the port.
   The record-setting 669,218 twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) moved by port terminals this October resulted in the fourth-busiest month of 2017 so far for the port, behind July, September and August.
   Inbound containers, mostly destined for retailers, jumped 14.3 percent to 339,013 TEUs, statistics show, while export boxes decreased slightly, 0.5 percent, to 126,150 containers. The number of empty containers being sent overseas to be refilled with goods increased 28.9 percent, to 204,055 TEUs.
   “October used to be the industry’s busiest month of the year, with retailers preparing for Christmas,” Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero explained. “Now, with other popular shopping seasons like back-to-school, Halloween and Black Friday, ocean carriers are spreading shipments across more months to maximize the services we have developed to serve them.”
   Through the first 10 months of the year, 6.23 million TEUs have moved through the Port of Long Beach, a 9.5 percent increase over the same period in 2016, according to port data. Although the YTD number of loaded outbound containers is off six percent compared to the same time period last year, the number of loaded outbound (10.3 percent) and empty containers (21.5 percent) are both up by double digits compared to last year.
   “With two months left in 2017, we’re on track to have our best year ever,” Harbor Commission President Lou Anne Bynum said.