Port of LA’s box volumes hold strong in January

Despite the Southern California port’s container volumes falling 2 percent in January 2018 from 12 months prior to 808,728 TEUs, it was only the seventh time it had eclipsed the 800,000-TEU mark in any single month.    The Port of Los Angeles handled 808,728 TEUs of containers in January, 2 percent fewer than in January 2017 when 826,640 TEUs moved across the California port’s docks.
   “After two consecutive years of record-breaking cargo, it’s encouraging to start 2018 with robust volumes,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka. “It’s only the seventh time we have eclipsed the 800,000-TEU mark in a single month.”
   The port attributed strong January volumes, in part, to retail stores replenishing inventories after the holidays, and cargo ships calling ahead of the Lunar New Year.
   Imports during the month inched up 1.8 percent from January 2017 to 422,831 TEUs, while exports tumbled 7.6 percent to 150,035 TEUs and empty container volumes fell 5.2 percent to 235,861 TEUs.
   Meanwhile, the nearby Port of Long Beach handled 657,830 TEUs in January, 12.9 percent more than in January 2017.
   Overall, the Port of Los Angeles is called by 20 container services connecting it to regions outside North America, while the Port of Long Beach is frequented by 19 container services also calling regions besides North America, according to BlueWater Reporting‘s Port Dashboard tool.