Port of Los Angeles handles record 796,000 TEUs in May

Container cargo volumes at the Southern California port increased 3.4 percent last month compared to the same period last year, making it the busiest May in the port’s 110-year history.

   Just one day after the Port of Long Beach in Southern California reported the highest cargo numbers of any May in its history, the adjoining Port of Los Angeles has done the same.
   Cargo volumes at the Port of L.A. increased 3.4 percent to 796,216 TEUs in May compared to the same period last year, making it the busiest May in the port’s 110-year history, the port said in a statement Tuesday. It was the second straight year the seaport produced record May volumes, according to port data.
   Container throughput figures were up across the board at North America’s largest and busiest seaport last month. Loaded imports increased 3.1 percent year-over-year to 413,021 TEUs, while loaded exports rose 4.4 percent to 169,639 TEUs and empty container moves were up 3.1 percent.
   Through the first five months of 2017, the port has seen container throughput grow 8.5 percent to 3.75 million TEUs compared to the same period in 2016, which was already a record-breaking year.
   For the port’s fiscal year-to-date, L.A. terminals have handled 8.47 million TEUs, also an 8.5 percent jump over the 7.7 million units moved during the same 11-month period in the previous fiscal year.
   “We continue to see balanced year-over-year growth both on the import and export side of our operations,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said of the figures.
   By comparison, neighboring Port of Long Beach moved 648,287 TEUs in May, the best individual month at the port since September 2015, and a total of 2.79 million TEUs through the first five months of the calendar year.