Cargo container volumes surged through the Port of Long
Beach in July, with an 18.4 percent increase over the same month in 2014,
making July a record month for the port.
After a slow start at the beginning of 2015, the gains in
July mark the fourth time in the last five months that cargo totals have
climbed significantly higher.
Port terminals moved 690,244 TEUs in July, an increase of
18.4 percent compared to July 2014. Imports jumped to 345,912 TEUs, a 16.2
percent increase from last July.
Also, exports increased an impressive 15.9 percent to
143,875 TEUs despite the stronger U.S. dollar, which has made U.S. exports relatively expensive
overseas.
July makes the fourth time in five months that the port
has seen import gains – July (18.4 percent),
May (4.8 percent), April (7.3 percent), and March (42.1 percent).
Through the first seven months of the current calendar
year, Long Beach cargo numbers are edging higher, with total cargo up 2.8
percent compared to the same period last year, imports up 1.4 percent and
exports down 10.9 percent.
The port says the results are an indication that the US
economy is growing, and the stronger dollar is giving retailers the confidence
to order more products from overseas to stock their shelves for consumers. The
National Retail Federation has forecast three-to-five percent gains for the
back-to-school and early holiday shopping seasons.
The good news for Long Beach is in contrast with the Port
of Los Angeles, which saw its containerized cargo business decrease by more
than two percent in July compared to the same period last year. The POLA
handled 699,127 TEUs last month, compared with more than 717,400 during the
same month in 2014.
More details on the cargo numbers are available at www.polb.com/stats.
