By Karen Robes Meeks
The Port of Long Beach continues its record-breaking run in cargo movement.
On Friday, the nation’s second busiest seaport reported moving 657,830 TEUs last month, the first time the port handled more than 600,000 TEUs in the month of January.
“The pre-Lunar New Year surge is definitely here,” said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero, referring to two-week holiday in Asia. “Since this year’s holiday begins February 16, we anticipated a busy January and February, as cargo owners seek to get goods shipped ahead of the festivities.”
The port also handled a record 324,656 TEUs in imports, 8.6 percent more than January 2017, and 120,503 TEUs in exports, 1.9 percent more than the same period last year.
This comes on the heels of the port’s record-shattering 2017, which marked the port’s busiest year with 7.54 million TEUs.
“The Port of Long Beach is happy to have a great start to 2018, especially after the successes of last year,” said Harbor Commission President Lou Anne Bynum. “We wish our supply chain partners in Asia a prosperous Lunar New Year and we’ll be doing all we can to ensure we can continue to grow our businesses together.”