Just days after the Port of Long Beach reported the busiest February in its history concerning container volumes, the adjoining Port of Los Angeles can now state the same.
The POLA handled 713,721 TEUs in February 2016, a whopping 42 percent increase compared to the same month last year. And not only was it the busiest February in the port’s 109-year history, it came on the heels of its best-ever January volumes.
“Back to back record months to start 2016 indicate consumer confidence in the U.S. economy and strong shipper confidence in our terminal and supply chain partners to deliver on speed and efficiency,” Port of LA Executive Director Gene Seroka said in a prepared statement.
February 2016 imports surged 46.6 percent to 372,744 TEUs compared to the previous year. Exports increased 11.1 percent to 146,488 TEUs in February. Total loaded imports of 519,233 TEUs increased 34.5 percent compared to the previous year. Empty containers increased 66.7 percent to 194,487 TEUs.
Combined, February overall volumes totaled 713,721 TEUs, a 42 percent increase compared to the same month in 2015. By comparison, the neighboring Port of Long Beach on March 9 reported moving 561,412 TEUs in February, a 35.9 percent increase over the same month last year.
February volumes at both ports were buoyed in part by U.S. importers bringing in products from Asia ahead of the Lunar Year, which began Feb. 8 and slowed production for several weeks in China.
The surge in February deliveries is expected to result in softer import volumes in March.
Current and past data container counts for the Port of Los Angeles may be found at: http://www.portoflosangeles.org/maritime/stats.asp
