Tuesday, May 20, 2014

POLB Monthly Cargo Volumes Surge

By Mark Edward Nero

Overall cargo numbers for containers at the Port of Long Beach were up 9.7 percent in April 2014 compared to the same month last year, according to newly-released data.

Following a slow March, which the port attributes in part to the harsh winter in other parts of the country, April container volumes rebounded as weather and shopping patterns returned to normal.

A total of 569,843 TEUs moved through Port of Long Beach container terminals in April. The total number of TEU imports was 295,712, an increase of 11.9 percent from April 2013, while exports jumped 6.3 percent to 146,498 TEUs over the same period. Also, empty containers were up 8.8 percent to 127,633 TEUs.

Following a weak first quarter at the POLB, overall volume for the first four months of 2014 is up just one percent compared to the same period last year. For the fiscal year, which began in October, total volumes are up 2.8 percent compared to the same seven months in FY 2013.

Last year, against which 2014 is being compared, was the third-busiest year in port history with a total of 6.73 million TEUs.

Additional details on Long Beach’s latest monthly cargo numbers can be found at http://www.polb.com/economics/stats/latest_teus.asp. More details on all cargo numbers are available at www.polb.com/stats.