Port of Los Angeles grows monthly, quarterly TEU volumes

Empty containers drove up overall volumes last month at the Southern California port due to trade policy changes impacting waste paper exports to China, according to the Port of Los Angeles.    More than 763,00 TEUs moved through the Port of Los Angeles last month, marking the third-largest September on record in terms of container volumes, according to newly released data from the port.
   During the month of September, the Port of LA had 88 vessel visits with an average TEU count of 8,679 per vessel, a new port record. The total represents a 22 percent increase from last September’s TEU-per-vessel average, statistics show.
   The port says that empty containers drove up overall volumes last month due to trade policy changes impacting waste paper exports to China. Meanwhile, loaded imports decreased .07 percent to 388,670 TEUs compared to September 2016, and loaded exports also decreased, falling 3.17 percent to 517,116 TEUs.
   The above figures, coupled with a 15.45 percent increase in empty container traffic, delivered overall volumes of 763,785 TEUs, which was a 2.15 percent increase compared to last September, port data show.
   For the fiscal year, which began July 1, port terminals have seen 2.4 million TEUs so far, a 7.78 percent increase over the 2.23 million units moved during the same three-month period in FY 2017.
   Through September 2017, cargo volumes are 6.89 million TEUs, an increase of 8.2 percent compared to the same period in 2016, which saw a record-breaking 8.8 million-TEUs for the total year.
   “As we enter the final quarter of 2017, we’re pleased to be tracking toward record volumes,” POLA Executive Director Gene Seroka said in a statement. “We continue to demonstrate the LA advantage to cargo owners.”