Friday, February 12, 2016

Monthly POLB Container Volumes Up 24 Percent

By Mark Edward Nero

The Port of Long Beach kicked off the New Year by logging its seventh straight month of cargo increases, showing a 24.8 percent jump in container shipments in January over the same month last year, according to data released Feb. 10.

Port of Long Beach terminals moved 536,188 TEUs in January, according to the data, and imports were up 30.3 percent to 278,491 TEUs. Exports saw an increase of 8.4 percent to 106,739 container units, and empty containers that were filled with items for post-holiday sales were sent back overseas to be reloaded with goods rose 28.6 percent year over year, to 150,958 TEUs.

“We are encouraged by the strong start to the year, which stands in stark contrast to the congestion we faced a year ago,” Port of Long Beach CEO Jon Slangerup said. “We are off to a solid start in 2016 and will continue to make the necessary strategic investments in capital, energy and innovative solutions to ensure that Long Beach remains the port of choice for international trade.”

For the fiscal year to date, Long Beach has moved 2.37 million TEUs, a nearly 10 percent jump over the 2.16 million TEUs that moved through the port during the same time period during the previous fiscal year. FY 2016 began for the port on Oct. 1.

Detailed information on the latest monthly cargo numbers can be found at www.polb.com/stats.