A troubling trend continued for the Port of Long Beach last month as it saw double-digit decreases in both the number of loaded and empty TEUs in November compared with the same time last year.
The biggest drop was in loaded outbound containers, which fell 22 percent compared with November 2010. According to port data, about 142,600 TEUS were moved in November of last year, but the number dropped to roughly 111,000 in November 2011.
Additionally, the number of loaded inbound containers fell 15 percent year-to-year, going from 274,400 in 2010 to 231,700. The number of empty TEUs transported fell by more than 17 percent, to 459,800 from 558,300.
For the year-to-date, loaded outbound containers have dropped just under 22 percent at the POLB, and the number of loaded outbound and empty TEUS moving through the port have dipped about 18 percent each.
Long Beach has moved a total of 5.5 million containers during the first 11 months of 2011, a drop of 3.3 percent compared with last year. By comparison, the adjoining Port of Los Angeles reported moving 7.2 million containers so far during the calendar year, an increase of about one percent compared with 2010.
Long Beach’s dip in cargo movement is partially due to the loss of tenant Hyundai Merchant Marine, which moved to the Port of LA in 2010.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
