The Port of Los Angeles has released its
March 2013 cargo volumes, and after a 17 percent surge in February cargo
volumes, last month’s overall volumes fell 22.6 percent compared to March 2012.
The decrease is being attributed in part to
the timing of the Chinese New Year, which slows production in Asian countries
that export to the United States, as well as a vessel service that shifted out
of the Port of LA.
Last month, Los Angeles saw drops in every
major statistical category it monitors, including loaded inbound containers,
loaded outbound and number of empties moved according to port data.
Imports dropped 28.7 percent, from 324,758
TEUs in March 2012 to 231,396 TEUs this March. Exports fell 17.9 percent, from
188,155 TEUs in March 2012 to 154,428 TEUs in March 2013.
Combined, total loaded imports and exports
for March decreased 24.7 percent, dropping from 512,913 TEUs last March to
385,824 TEUs in March 2013. Factoring in empties, which decreased 14.6 percent
year over year, overall, the March 2013 volume of 503,168 TEUs represented a
22.6 percent compared to March 2012’s 650,452 TEUs.
The month of declines also dragged down the
port’s calendar year and fiscal year volumes to date. During the first quarter
of the calendar year, POLA terminals moved 1.78 million TEUs, a drop of nearly
87,700 containers, or about 4.7 percent, from the 1.87 million TEUs of the same
three months last year.
And for the fiscal year, which began July 1,
Los Angeles terminals have seen 5.85 million TEUs thus far, a 3.2 percent drop
from FY 2012’s 6.0 million over the same time period.
Current and past data container counts for
the Port of Los Angeles can be found at:
http://www.portoflosangeles.org/maritime/stats.asp.
