Long Beach sees container volumes surge in July

July export container volumes at the Southern California port increased 15.9 percent from last July, despite the strong dollar, which made U.S. exports more expensive overseas.    The Port of Long Beach reported a total of 690,244 TEUs were moved through its terminals in July, a year-over-year increase of 18.4 percent.
   The port’s export volumes in July stood at 143,875 TEUs, a year-over-year increase of 15.9 percent, despite the strong dollar, which made U.S. exports more expensive overseas.
   Import cargo volumes were up 16.2 percent year-over-year in July to 345,912 TEUs. July was the fourth time in the last five months the port reported year-over-year import cargo gains, a sign the U.S. economy is improving.
   “These exceptional results are great news for Long Beach and the nation’s economy,” Port of Long Beach Chief Executive Officer Jon Slangerup said in a statement. “We’ve worked closely with all of our stakeholders to prepare for our peak season, which is off to a great start with very strong back-to-school shipments and our best export month in a year. We applaud our partners for their role in these impressive results.”
   Overall, for the first seven months of 2015, a total of 3,996,661 TEUs were moved through the port, up 2.8 percent from the same period in 2014, with imports up 1.4 percent and exports down 10.9 percent.