STATISTICS released by the Port of Los Angeles show that box throughput in April surged 14.5 per cent to a total of 707,182 TEU compared to the same month last year.

"April was a very, very strong month with double-digit increases on both the import and export side. It was our best month of 2012 and also the busiest April ever in terms of overall volumes. We were pleasantly surprised with the import numbers, and that could reflect increased consumer confidence," said port spokesman Phillip Sanfield.

Factoring in empties, which increased 13.3 per cent year on year, the overall volume reflects the busiest April in the port's history, surpassing April 2007 volumes of 679,575 TEU, reported American Shipper.

At the same time, import volume rose 16.7 per cent to 364,555 TEU from 312,359 TEU in April 2011, while exports increased 11.5 per cent, from 167,448 TEU to 186,838 TEU in April 2012. Combined, total loaded imports and exports for April increased 14.9 per cent from 479,808 TEU last April to 551,393 TEU in April 2012.

For the first four months of 2012, overall container volumes have increased 6.1 per cent (2,582,003 TEU) compared to the same period in 2011 (2,433,499 TEU).

Said Mr Sanfield: "The increase in empty containers returning to Asia bodes well because it's an indication that shippers are repositioning containers for the return-to-school season. Those goods traditionally start coming toward the end of June and into July. After that, we're hopeful that our late summer volumes will move into a more traditional holiday peak season pattern."