The Port of Long Beach continued to report solid cargo numbers in June, posting the strongest month of total container moves for 2011 and the strongest June posting for the port since 2008.
Last month also marked the strongest June showing for the port since 2008 on both the import and export side of the ledger. However, June's import and export numbers were both off slightly from those posted in May.
Overall, the port's total container moves were boosted into positive territory for June by a sharp 19.1 percent increase over May in the number of empty containers shipped through the port.
June marked the fourth straight month of increasing empty container moves – strong indication that foreign shippers are staging large numbers of containers in preparation for the traditional peak season increase in Transpac imports flowing through West Coast ports.
The port handled a total of 554,269 TEUs in June, a 3.3 percent increase over May and a 6.6 percent increase over June of last year.
In the import column, the port handled a total of 271,113 loaded inbound TEUs in June, a 1.5 percent decline over May, but a 3.5 percent increase over imports in June, 2010.
On the export side of the ledger, the port posted a total of 126,588 loaded outbound TEUs in June, a 2.7 percent drop over May, but a 9 percent increase over the year-ago period.
Long Beach remains in solid positive territory for the calendar year, having moved a total of 1.48 million TEUs in the first half of the year – putting the port up 6 percent over the first six months of 2010.
