By Karen Robes Meeks
The Port of Long Beach is projected to move more than 7 million containers this year, according to latest numbers released this week. If the projection is correct, it will be the fourth time in its history to reach that number. The port has already processed 6.8 million TEUs over the last 11 months, 10 percent more than in 2016 when the port moved more than 6.7 million TEUs.
Contributing to that statistic is the 612,659 TEUs Long Beach handled last month, a 14.7 percent jump from November 2016.
“U.S. consumers are confident and the economy has been strong,” said Long Beach Harbor Commission President Lou Anne Bynum. “Retailers have been stocking goods as a result and we are nearing cargo levels we have not seen since before the 2008 recession.”
Imports rose 18 percent to 319,210 TEUs, a number attributed to retailers rushing to stock shelves for holiday and post-Christmas sales. Exports also went up 4.5 percent to 126,364 TEUs.
