West Coast port container volumes reverse in September

West Coast port container volumes reverse in September    After experiencing modest growth in TEU volumes since February, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles suffered a drop in import container traffic in September ' a period that normally represents the peak shipping season. Other West Coast ports also saw a dip in activity during the normally heavy month.
   The Port of Long Beach handled 440,364 containers in September, down from 493,339 TEUs in August. Of that total, 224,924 were inbound boxes, down from 249,920 TEUs in August and barely above July's total of 221,719 TEUs. There were also fewer loaded export containers, 109,337 TEUs compared to 130,623 TEUs in August, and empty containers, 106,103 TEUs vs. 112,796 TEUs.
   The month-over-month reversal is more significant in terms of showing that economic recovery will be uneven than year-over-year comparisons, which are understandably skewed by the recession.
   Total TEUs fell 20.6 percent in September compared to the same month in 2008. Inbound container volume was off 19.4 percent, exports fell 15.7 percent and empties dropped 27.4 percent.
   The Port of Long Beach's container volume is down 21.6 percent year-to-date compared to 2008.
   The same pattern took place at the Port of Los Angeles. Total TEUs fell to 583,557 TEUs from 612,581 TEUs in August. Loaded import boxes fell to 309,078 TEUs from 323,629 TEUs in August, loaded exports were 140,271 vs. 150,341, and outbound empties were down almost 6,000 TEUs to 129,999.
   On an annualized basis, total container volume for September was off 15.7 percent at the nation's largest port. Through the first nine months of the year, volumes are down 16.28 percent versus 2008.
   The September figures for the twin ports were their worst for that month in nine years.
   The Port of Seattle partially bucked the West Coast trend and posted gains for the month on an annualized basis. But it too experienced a dip in month-to-month volumes with 141,892 TEUs in September compared to 152,874 TEUs in August. The port experienced its second straight month of year-over-year growth in September. After posting a 5 percent increase in TEU volume in August, the Puget Sound port handled 4.8 percent more containers compared to the same month in 2008. Year-to-date, Seattle's volumes have slumped 14.2 percent compared to last year.
   The Port of Tacoma, by contrast, saw a small increase in consecutive month volumes, with 53,251 TEUs in import volumes compared to 32,325 in September. Overall, the port's container volume increased to 146,403 TEUs vs. August, which represents a 17.4 percent decline from September 2008. So far this year Tacoma's volume is down 15.6 percent to 1.19 million TEUs, about a third of which is for domestic Alaska trade.
   Oakland also saw positive month-over-month activity, with 182,092 TEUs compared to 177,855 in August. Imports were up to 63,619 TEUs vs. 61,562 TEUs, but exports were slightly down to 83,916 TEUs. Oakland's volume was down 3.7 percent in September compared to the year-ago period and year-to-date volumes are down 11.6 percent. ' Eric Kulisch