Empties spark April volume growth at Long Beach

The Port of Long Beach increased throughput of containerized cargo by 7.9 percent last month.    The neighboring ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach went in opposite directions last month in terms of container volume growth.
   The Port of Long Beach increased container throughput 7.9 percent to 614,860 TEUs in April compared to the same month a year ago, making it the busiest April in nine years, according to figures released Monday by the port. The Port of Los Angeles, by contrast, saw its container cargo flow decline 6.1 percent year-over-year to 662,973 TEUs in April.
   Long Beach’s loaded imports grew 7.3 percent to 317,376 TEUs, while exports dropped 6.1 percent to 137,546 standard shipping units. The largest area of growth was in empty containers, which surged 25.3 percent because of trade imbalance and the need to relocate boxes back to manufacturers in Asia for reuse.
   By comparison, imports, exports and empty containers at Los Angeles were up 9.9 percent, down 15.8 percent, and down 12 percent, respectively.
   Through the first four months of the year, Long Beach’s container business is essentially flat (minus 0.3 percent), compared to the same period a year ago.
   Volumes dropped sharply during the first two months because of the labor dispute between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and employers represented by the Pacific Maritime Association, which caused productivity to suffer and severe cargo backlogs to develop. Traffic flow is much improved since a tentative labor pact was reached on Feb. 20, although there is still a high level of residual congestion due to capacity constraints.
   One sign of progress at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is that there are no longer container ships waiting at anchor for a berth.