The number of inbound and outbound full containers that moved through the Port of Long Beach last month, as well as the number empties shipped, all grew last month compared with the same period last year, according to newly released data from the port.
Inbound container volume at the Port of Long Beach climbed over 18 percent to 226,141 20-foot equivalent units, and loaded outbound containers rose by nearly 10 percent, to 144,838 TEUs in March 2012 compared to the same period a year ago.
A total of 90,611 empty containers moved through the port in March, a 1.5 percent bump over last March. In total, port terminals handled 461,600 TEUs last month, compared to 412,250 TEUs in March 2011.
Overall container volume through Long Beach was up almost 12 percent for the month, according to the port’s numbers, rising from 412,235 during the first three months of 2011 to 461,590 during the same period this year.
But even with last month’s growth, container volumes at the port are down over nine percent for the fiscal year to date compared to the same period last year, falling from three million TEUs to 2.76 million. Long Beach’s fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.
During Long Beach’s annual peak season forecast event March 28, however, analysts said they expect modest growth in trade volume during this year’s peak shipping season of mid-summer and fall, particularly when it comes to international exports.
