L.A.-Long Beach growth slowed to 11% in 2004

L.A.-Long Beach growth slowed to 11% in 2004    Growth in container traffic at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach slowed down to 11 percent in 2004, to 13.1 million TEUs, the latest statistics released by the two largest West Coast ports show.
   While the port of Long Beach continued to rapidly expand last year, with a 24-percent higher box volume of 5.8 million TEUs recorded for 2004, Los Angeles saw its traffic rise just 2 percent to 7.3 million TEUs in 2004.
   The two ports’ average volume growth of 11 percent for 2004 shows a substantial fall in the pace of their growth when compared with their 18-percent overall traffic gain recorded for 2003.
   Los Angeles and Long Beach are believed to have lost market share to other West Coast ports in 2004, when the overall transpacific eastbound trade increased by an estimated 13-15 percent. Shipping lines confirmed they have diverted cargoes and ships to ports other than Los Angeles and Long Beach in the 2004 peak season due to severe port congestion in southern California.
   Los Angeles said inbound loaded TEUs increased 3 percent to 3.9 million TEUs in 2004, after expanding 18 percent in 2003. Inbound loaded traffic jumped 24 percent to 3 million TEUs in Long Beach in 2004. Total inbound loaded TEUs for both ports increased 11 percent to 6.9 million TEUs in 2004.
   Outbound loaded traffic at Los Angeles fell 3 percent in 2004 to 1.1 million TEUs. Over the same period, Long Beach increased its outbound loaded traffic 11 percent to 1 million TEUs. The two ports’ combined outbound traffic of full containers rose 3 percent to 2.1 million TEUs last year.
   The number of empty TEUs continued to rise faster than loaded container traffic in Long Beach, as the imbalance between eastbound and westbound cargo flows widened in 2004. Long Beach saw its number of empty containers soar 33 percent to 1.8 million TEUs. Empty box traffic handled at Los Angeles increased 2 percent to 2.3 million TEUs in 2004.
   The proportion of empty containers overall for the two major ports increased to 31 percent in 2004 from 30 percent in 2003 and 28 percent in 2002.