PORT OF LONG BEACH POSTS SECOND-HIGHEST CONTAINER TOTAL IN 2002

PORT OF LONG BEACH POSTS SECOND-HIGHEST CONTAINER TOTAL IN 2002    The Port of Long Beach said its shipping terminals handled 4.52 million TEUs in 2002, the second-highest total in the port’s history.
   The 2002 figure marked a 1.4-percent increase over the 4.46 million TEUs handled in 2001.
   Inbound container cargo rose 1.2 percent to 2.45 million TEUs. Leading imports commodities were retail goods such as consumer electronics, toys, apparel, shoes and household products.
   Long Beach’s outbound container cargo in 2002 dropped 10.2 percent to 855,200 TEUs. Leading exports included factory materials and raw materials.
   The number of empty containers in 2002 increased 11.9percent to 1.22 million TEUs, nearly all headed back to Asia to be reloaded.
   For December, Long Beach’s container total were flat. Exports fell 23.2 percent to 64,262 TEUs, while imports declined 4 percent to183,917 TEUs. Empties increased 32.2 percent to 111,457 TEUs.
   The higher total of empties was due to terminals clearing their yards of a backlog of containers, said Art Wong, a port spokesman.