Container ports in the United States continue to record an impressive recovery from the pandemic despite current headwinds, August data from the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association shows.
The West Coast’s Port of Los Angeles-Long Beach complex, the leading American container gateway, are focal points in the PMSA report.
In August, Los Angeles handled 504,514 inbound laden twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs), reflecting a 1% decrease compared to the previous year while marking a notable 15.3% increase over the pre-pandemic levels of August 2019. This indicates a robust recovery trajectory, albeit tempered by current economic conditions. Long Beach reported a similar pattern, managing 440,318 inbound loaded TEUs, down 3.6% from the previous year yet up 36.4% from the pre-pandemic benchmark.
The San Pedro Bay gateway handled a combined 944,832 inbound loads in August, a modest 2.2% dip from the same period a year ago. Despite these fluctuations, total container movements year-to-date at these ports saw a significant 19.9% increase compared to 2019, underscoring the resilience in container volume on continued strong consumer spending.
California’s Port of Oakland processed 82,245 inbound loaded TEUs in August. Although this was a slight 1.2% decrease from the previous year, it highlighted a more considerable 6.9% drop from the 2019 figures. This illustrates the varying impacts of global supply chain disruptions on different U.S. ports.
Further north, the Northwest Seaport Alliance ports of Tacoma and Seattle faced more pronounced declines. They discharged 93,003 laden TEUs in August, a sharp 24.8% fall from the prior year and a 17.2% decrease from August 2019. Such significant reductions reflect broader challenges in the global shipping industry, including fluctuating demand and shifting trade routes as carriers minimize exposure to U.S. port fees on Chinese-built ships.
On the East Coast, the Port of New York-New Jersey posted solid growth, logging 416,009 inbound loaded TEUs in August. This figure represents a 5.2% increase from the same month a year ago and a substantial 21.4% rise over the August 2019 numbers, illustrating the port’s strategic importance and adaptability in meeting escalating demand.
The Port of Virginia experienced an 8.3% decline in inbound loads compared to last year, with a total of 140,055 TEUs. Despite this dip, the figures still marked a 15.2% increase over August 2019, again underlining dynamic shifts in regional trade patterns.
On the Gulf coast, Port Houston registered a 3.9% increase in inbound loads, amounting to 169,631 TEUs in August, bolstered by a robust 53.8% surge from six years earlier. These figures underscore the strategic investments and successful logistics that ports like Houston have implemented to overcome challenging conditions.
Further influencing these dynamics are freight rate fluctuations and changing geopolitical pressures, both critical factors impacting shipping logistics and cost structures across the globe. Disruptions in the Red Sea have forced ocean carriers to continually adjust to shifting demand, affecting not only prices but also delivery timelines, critical to efficiency and reliability.
The OMSA report said the Port of Charleston in the Atlantic region logged an 11.7% yearly increase in inbound loads, tallying 110,697 TEUs for August. However, outbound loads only experienced a marginal year-on-year rise, reflecting broader trends of altered export patterns due to global market conditions.
Canada’s principal seaport in British Columbia, the Port of Vancouver, in August processed 151,273 laden TEUs, up 2.8% y/y and 3.7% higher than August 2019. Total container movements reached 2,544,398 TEUs, a gain of 11% from the first eight months of 2019.
Also in British Columbia, the Port of Prince Rupert, Canada’s third-busiest port, handled 43,833 inbound loaded TEUs in August, up 23.1% y/y but off 38.7% from July 2019. Total traffic was 605,815 TEUs, a decline of 22.6% from the same period in 2019.
Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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