By Mark Edward Nero
The Port of Long Beach says that its terminals moved nearly 6.8 million containers in 2016, making it the port’s fifth best year ever. However, the overall cargo numbers declined 5.8 percent last year compared to 2015, the data show.
The port attributes the decline to “industry headwinds” and challenges that included a major customer declaring bankruptcy.
Long Beach says it was negatively impacted by new ocean carrier alliances and the August, 2016 bankruptcy of Hanjin Shipping, a South Korean company and former majority stakeholder at the port’s 381-acre Pier T container terminal — Long Beach’s largest.
A total of 6,775,171 TEUs moved through the port’s docks in 2016. Imports totaled 3,442,575 TEUs, down five percent, but exports were up 0.3 percent to 1,529,497 units. Empty containers were down 11.7 percent to 1,803,098 TEUs.
By comparison, cargo volumes at the adjacent Port of Los Angeles reached 8.85 million TEUs in 2016, making it the busiest cargo year ever for a port in North America, according to POLA data.
In December, Long Beach cargo was eight percent lower compared to the same month in 2015. Imports decreased 8.2 percent to 271,599 twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, last month, while exports fell 2.5 percent to 122,933 TEUs, and empties fell 11.4 percent to 154,397 TEUs.
Although the loss of Hanjin had an immediate negative effect, by year’s end the port’s harbor commission had approved an agreement for a subsidiary of Mediterranean Shipping Co., one of the world’s largest container ship operators, to take sole control of the long-term lease at Pier T, helping set things back on track.
“As the new year starts, we’re grateful to be able to put the Hanjin bankruptcy behind us,” POLB Interim Chief Executive Duane Kenagy said. “At the same time, MSC’s quick interest in Pier T once it became available shows the facility’s value to the industry.”
Kenagy became interim CEO in September, following the sudden departure of then-CEO Jon Slangerup who left to become chairman and chief executive officer of a Canada-based aviation technology company.
“Last year was turbulent, with numerous ocean carrier mergers and other changes,” Harbor Commission President Lori Ann Guzmán said in a statement. “Now we have one of the largest ocean carriers in the world as a major partner and we’re well positioned to rebound in 2017. While the industry strives for equilibrium, Long Beach will continue be a reliable port of entry and continue to provide the fastest, most efficient services for trade from the Far East.”
Long Beach’s latest monthly cargo numbers and more detailed information are available at http://www.polb.com/economics/stats/latest_teus.asp and www.polb.com/stats
Showing posts with label container traffic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label container traffic. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Port of Vancouver Cargo Traffic Slides
By Mark Edward Nero
Total cargo at Canada’s largest port for the half-year ending June 30 was 66.0 million metric tons, an overall decrease of 5.9 percent over the same period in 2015, according to data released Aug. 19 by the Port of Vancouver.
According to the port authority’s 2016 mid-year statistics report, a softened global economy, the weakened Canadian dollar, and some containerized cargo shifting back to United States ports following an extended labor disruption on the US West Coast last year were all factors contributing to lighter than usual traffic through the port.
Despite the short-term slowdown, forecasts show that long-term growth in trade is expected to continue to boost the Canadian economy.
“The slight decrease in cargo volumes in the first half of 2016 is expected, given the record year we experienced in 2015 and the softening global economy,” Vancouver Fraser Port Authority President and CEO Robin Silvester explained. “The long-term outlook for Canadian trade is one of growth, and the port will be ready to handle increased volumes through Canada’s West Coast.”
The half-year results represent a softening of volumes in all major commodities except grain, where increases in barley (up 41.8 percent) and canola (up 40.1 percent) contributed to overall growth in that sector.
In the container sector, volumes weakened in the first half of 2016 compared to last year, when the port had experienced a temporary surge of cargo in 2015 as shippers moved freight through Canada due to traffic congestion caused by labor disruptions at US West Coast ports. Between January and June 2016, 1.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units moved through Vancouver, a decrease of 6.5 percent from the same period in 2015, a record-breaking year. Compared to 2014, 2016 volume is up 1.3 percent.
Total cargo at Canada’s largest port for the half-year ending June 30 was 66.0 million metric tons, an overall decrease of 5.9 percent over the same period in 2015, according to data released Aug. 19 by the Port of Vancouver.
According to the port authority’s 2016 mid-year statistics report, a softened global economy, the weakened Canadian dollar, and some containerized cargo shifting back to United States ports following an extended labor disruption on the US West Coast last year were all factors contributing to lighter than usual traffic through the port.
Despite the short-term slowdown, forecasts show that long-term growth in trade is expected to continue to boost the Canadian economy.
“The slight decrease in cargo volumes in the first half of 2016 is expected, given the record year we experienced in 2015 and the softening global economy,” Vancouver Fraser Port Authority President and CEO Robin Silvester explained. “The long-term outlook for Canadian trade is one of growth, and the port will be ready to handle increased volumes through Canada’s West Coast.”
The half-year results represent a softening of volumes in all major commodities except grain, where increases in barley (up 41.8 percent) and canola (up 40.1 percent) contributed to overall growth in that sector.
In the container sector, volumes weakened in the first half of 2016 compared to last year, when the port had experienced a temporary surge of cargo in 2015 as shippers moved freight through Canada due to traffic congestion caused by labor disruptions at US West Coast ports. Between January and June 2016, 1.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units moved through Vancouver, a decrease of 6.5 percent from the same period in 2015, a record-breaking year. Compared to 2014, 2016 volume is up 1.3 percent.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Port of LA Sees Record Growth in Export Volumes
For the second straight month, loaded exports have set a record at the Port of Los Angeles, according to figures released Dec. 15.
During November, 195,877 TEUs of loaded export containers moved through the port, an increase of 15 percent compared with the same month in 2010. During the first 11 months of 2011, exports have already surpassed 2010 volumes, which had been the previous record year for exports. The port says it’s on pace to export more than two million TEUs during the current calendar year.
Additionally, the number of loaded inbound containers moving through LA rose over six percent last month compared with the same period last year, to 354,313 from 333,710. Total container traffic during the month amounted to a 4.07 percent year-over-year rise, to 694,108 TEUs this November, from the 666,970 that were moved during the same month in 2010.
The news isn’t all great, however. During the first 11 months of the calendar year, TEU traffic rose at the Port of LA by just 71,791 containers from the year before – a total 0.99 percent, according to the port.
During November, 195,877 TEUs of loaded export containers moved through the port, an increase of 15 percent compared with the same month in 2010. During the first 11 months of 2011, exports have already surpassed 2010 volumes, which had been the previous record year for exports. The port says it’s on pace to export more than two million TEUs during the current calendar year.
Additionally, the number of loaded inbound containers moving through LA rose over six percent last month compared with the same period last year, to 354,313 from 333,710. Total container traffic during the month amounted to a 4.07 percent year-over-year rise, to 694,108 TEUs this November, from the 666,970 that were moved during the same month in 2010.
The news isn’t all great, however. During the first 11 months of the calendar year, TEU traffic rose at the Port of LA by just 71,791 containers from the year before – a total 0.99 percent, according to the port.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Container Volume Falls at Port of Long Beach
The 2011-2012 fiscal year has gotten off to a shaky start for the Port of Long Beach, with the port recording an over 20 percent drop in the number of cargo containers moving through it in October 2011 compared with the same month in 2010.
Last month, a total of 240,248 loaded containers came into the port, a 20.8 percent drop from the 303,000 that entered in October 2010, according to newly released data. Also, about 118,300 loaded outbound containers moved through the port, a drop of about 21 percent from the about 150,500 that Long Beach handled in the same month the year prior.
The number of empty incoming and outgoing containers was also down, falling to 487,665 last month from 613,621 in October 2010, a decline of 19.3 percent.
The across-the-board drop amounted to a total negative change in TEU traffic of 20.5 percent.
The drop is being blamed in part by the scaling back by smaller carriers that called at the port. So far in 2011, five shipping lines operating vessels with about 3,000-TEU capacity have discontinued trans-Pacific service from China to the Long Beach due to weakened US imports.
During the first 10 months of the calendar year, Long Beach saw a 1.7 percent decline in total TEUs. By contrast, the adjoining Port of Los Angeles saw a slight rise in traffic during the first 10 months of the year.
The number of TEUs moving through L.A. rose by 44,653 containers – or 0.6 percent – from January through October. This includes a small bump in container traffic last month, a 4.4 percent rise to 712,586 TEUs, compared to October 2010’s 682,384.
When last month’s numbers at the two ports are combined, the port complex as a whole suffered a seven percent drop in imports in October, but a four percent increase in exports, mainly due to the Port of Los Angeles recording a 28 percent increase in loaded outbound cargo containers in October over the same month last year.
Imports also rose at L.A. last month, increasing by five percent compared with October 2010.
Last month, a total of 240,248 loaded containers came into the port, a 20.8 percent drop from the 303,000 that entered in October 2010, according to newly released data. Also, about 118,300 loaded outbound containers moved through the port, a drop of about 21 percent from the about 150,500 that Long Beach handled in the same month the year prior.
The number of empty incoming and outgoing containers was also down, falling to 487,665 last month from 613,621 in October 2010, a decline of 19.3 percent.
The across-the-board drop amounted to a total negative change in TEU traffic of 20.5 percent.
The drop is being blamed in part by the scaling back by smaller carriers that called at the port. So far in 2011, five shipping lines operating vessels with about 3,000-TEU capacity have discontinued trans-Pacific service from China to the Long Beach due to weakened US imports.
During the first 10 months of the calendar year, Long Beach saw a 1.7 percent decline in total TEUs. By contrast, the adjoining Port of Los Angeles saw a slight rise in traffic during the first 10 months of the year.
The number of TEUs moving through L.A. rose by 44,653 containers – or 0.6 percent – from January through October. This includes a small bump in container traffic last month, a 4.4 percent rise to 712,586 TEUs, compared to October 2010’s 682,384.
When last month’s numbers at the two ports are combined, the port complex as a whole suffered a seven percent drop in imports in October, but a four percent increase in exports, mainly due to the Port of Los Angeles recording a 28 percent increase in loaded outbound cargo containers in October over the same month last year.
Imports also rose at L.A. last month, increasing by five percent compared with October 2010.
Container Traffic Rises Slightly at Tacoma
Continuing what’s been a mostly up calendar year for traffic, the Port of Tacoma saw a more than three percent increase in container volume in October compared with the same month in 2010.
According to newly released figures, the port moved a total of 123,623 TEUs in October, up from 119,600 during the same month last year, a 3.3 percent increase. It marks the seventh month out of 10 with an increase in traffic over the corresponding month the year prior.
Also, despite a more than three percent decrease in domestic container shipping recorded during the first 10 months of the year, the total number of TEUs moving through the port rose just over two percent during the time period, thanks for an increase of about five percent in foreign container movement.
Tacoma saw 1.23 million total containers during the first 10 months of the calendar year, a 2.1 percent rise from the 1.20 million containers of January to October 2010.
Of the amount, over 836,000 were foreign inbound and outbound TEUS, a 4.9 percent increase from the same 10 months last year.
However, the number of domestic containers – coming and going from Alaska and Hawaii – was down 3.3 percent, to 394,500 from 408,000.
According to newly released figures, the port moved a total of 123,623 TEUs in October, up from 119,600 during the same month last year, a 3.3 percent increase. It marks the seventh month out of 10 with an increase in traffic over the corresponding month the year prior.
Also, despite a more than three percent decrease in domestic container shipping recorded during the first 10 months of the year, the total number of TEUs moving through the port rose just over two percent during the time period, thanks for an increase of about five percent in foreign container movement.
Tacoma saw 1.23 million total containers during the first 10 months of the calendar year, a 2.1 percent rise from the 1.20 million containers of January to October 2010.
Of the amount, over 836,000 were foreign inbound and outbound TEUS, a 4.9 percent increase from the same 10 months last year.
However, the number of domestic containers – coming and going from Alaska and Hawaii – was down 3.3 percent, to 394,500 from 408,000.
