Port of LA-Long Beach June figures up, empties` impact high

LOS ANGELES posted a 32 per cent increase in container volume in June to 203,871 TEU year on year while Long Beach went up 25.8 per cent to 141,935 TEU, beating all June figures since records began.

But empties played a large role in the increase, 53 per cent up to 203,871 TEU year on year for LA and 141,935 TEU for Long Beach.


Imports led at Los Angeles, up 32 per cent and 27 per cent at Long Beach with exports up 12.6 per cent in LA and 1.8 per cent at Long Beach.


LA port spokesman Phillip Sanfield said the figures show a 15 per cent increase for the first half of the year, a stronger forecast than expected but cautioned that it did not signal a full recovery. "What we`re seeing is a strengthening of the overall trade environment," he said in a report from Newark`s Journal of Commerce.


Long Beach port spokesman Art Wong agreed that despite a good recovery it could flatten out in the second half. "While we are encouraged by the first six months of growth, we realise that it`s really a month-to-month situation."