Long Beach hotter than July as containers soar to monthly record

Volume marked third-busiest month in gateway’s history

Container vessels at the Port of Long Beach, Calif. (Photo: Jim Allen/Freightwaves)

The Port of Long Beach in Southern California set a monthly record in July  as retailers got a substantial head start moving inventory heading into the peak shipping season.

Total volume was 882,376 twenty-foot equivalent units, an increase of 52.6% from the same month a year ago and 12.4% ahead of the previous record set in July 2022. Imports rocketed 60.5% to 435,081 TEUs while  exports grew 16.3% to 104,834 TEUs. Empty containers surged 57.8% to 342,462 TEUs.

Shipper concerns over a possible East Coast longshore strike, Mideast vessel reroutings and potential increased tariffs helped make July the third-busiest month in the port’s 113-year history.

“We’re in a strong position heading into the peak shipping season as consumers purchase back-to-school supplies and shippers move goods ahead of potential tariff increases,” said Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero, in a release. “We have plenty of capacity across our terminals and cargo continues to move efficiently and sustainably … for trans-Pacific trade.”

Port officials also credited partnerships with labor and industry for supporting the record-setting pace.

Long Beach moved 5,174,002 TEUs through the first seven months of 2024, up 20% from the same period a year ago.

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Stuart Chirls

Stuart Chirls is a journalist who has covered the full breadth of railroads, intermodal, container shipping, ports, supply chain and logistics for Railway Age, the Journal of Commerce and IANA. He has also staffed at S&P, McGraw-Hill, United Business Media, Advance Media, Tribune Co., The New York Times Co., and worked in supply chain with BASF, the world's largest chemical producer. Reach him at stuartchirls@firecrown.com.