The Southern California ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles both reported export, import and total monthly container volumes up substantially in April, the first across-the-board increase at the port complex this year.
The Port of Long Beach reported total container volume increased 18.7 percent compared to April 2009, climbing to 485,059 TEUs. Loaded inbound container volume also increased 21.2 percent to 241,245 TEUs for April, and loaded outbound box volume climbed 15.2 percent to 130,155 TEUs, each compared to the year-ago period.
Despite the increases, the port still remains down 1.1 percent compared to the first four months of 2009.
Across the harbor, the Port of Los Angeles reported 595,283 TEUs moved over its docks during the month of April, up 11.9 percent compared to the same period last year. The port also reported handling 302,224 loaded inbound TEUs for the month, an 8.3 percent increase, and 158,338 loaded outbound TEUs, a 12.4 percent increase.
For the calendar year, Los Angeles is now up 9.0 percent compared to the January-to-April period last year.
Both ports also reported double-digit increases in empty containers handled in April, a signal that Asian manufacturers are looking for more boxes to fill for the return to North America.
The volume of empties handled in Long Beach during April climbed 17.6 percent and Los Angeles saw an even larger 20.2 percent increase, both compared to April 2009.
