L.A. port cargo volumes down 6.1 percent in April

Mitigating factors impacted the expected rebound after the resolution of contentious ILWU-PMA port labor contract negotiaitons, according to the southern California port.    April container volumes fell 6.1 percent at the Port of Los Angeles on a year-over-year basis, the port authority said Friday. Terminals at the port handled 662,973 TEUs for the month.
   The port authority said comparisons to 2014 were skewed by the fact that importers pre-shipped orders earlier than normal due to concerns about pending labor negotiations and the expiration of the existing contract at the end of June. The precaution turned out to be justified when talks between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and terminal operators represented by Pacific Maritime Association broke down, resulting in eight months of recrimination and declining productivity. The two sides reached agreement on Feb. 20 with the help of federal mediation, and the ILWU’s member ratification vote is scheduled for May 22.
   The Port of Los Angeles also said that some vessel alliances were still unbalanced in April as they tried to get back to a regular rotation following congestion issues during the negotiations.
   Year-to-date, container business is down 5.3 percent at the port to 2.5 million TEUs compared with the same period a year ago.
   Imports in April fell 9.9 percent to 328,140 TEUs, while exports dropped 15.8 percent to 145,655 TEUs. Combined loaded imports and exports decreased 11.8 percent to 473,796 TEUs. Empty container handling was down 12 percent for the month.
   The April results were a marked change from March, when volumes surged 17.3 percent as terminals caught up with the glut of ocean containers that couldn’t clear the port duue congestion.
   The monthly Port Tracker, produced by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates, estimated that cargo volumes at the nation’s big container ports would increase 8 percent to 1.55 million TEUs in April.
   Los Angeles is the nation’s largest container port. The Port of Long Beach, next door to Los Angeles, has yet to report its April cargo figures. In March, the Port of Long Beach experienced 32 percent growth in container volume.