THE Port of Long Beach again trumped its larger rival Los Angeles in terms of growth last month, having handled six per cent more containers year on year than LA, which posted a 3.4 per cent drop in May volume.
Nonetheless a substantial gap between the port volumes remains with a 768,804 TEU total posted by LA versus 687,427 TEU for Long Beach.
Long Beach had its busiest May in history with laden imports rising 7.3 per cent to 361,056 TEU. Exports were up 19.9 per cent to 142,412 TEU while empties fell 4.6 per cent to 183,959 TEU.
Through the first five months of the year, the port has moved 3.2 million TEU, 14.6 per cent above last year's pace.
'International trade continues to be a thriving part of the economy, and cargo continues to flow across our docks as we focus on delivering goods quickly, efficiently and at a good cost,' said Harbour Commission President Lou Anne Bynum.
'We look forward to a robust peak season this summer and fall. West coast seaports are typically busier in the summer months as retailers stock up for the holidays.
'E-commerce has transformed the supply chain to deliver goods rapidly and then replenish them based on consumer demand,' said Port of Long Beach executive director Mario Cordero.
'Since the US economy is strong, that's part of our record May result, which also ranks as one of our best months ever,' he said.
Changes in alliance choices in San Pedro Bay favouring Long Beach has been blamed for the drop in container throughput at Los Angeles.
Laden imports boxes in May came to 405,587 TEU, falling 1.8 per cent year on year, while laden exports slipped 0.8 per cent to 168,681 TEU. Empties stood at 194,537 TEU, down 8.9 per cent.
Five months into 2018, overall volumes have decreased 4.4 per cent to 3.59 million TEU compared to 2017, when the port set an all-time cargo record.
Said LA port executive director Gene Seroka 'Volumes have softened due to continued shuffling of alliance services in the San Pedro Bay. The port remains focused on digitising our value chain. Our aim is to introduce the GE Port Optimizer this summer with the support of our liner and terminal partners.'
Nonetheless a substantial gap between the port volumes remains with a 768,804 TEU total posted by LA versus 687,427 TEU for Long Beach.
Long Beach had its busiest May in history with laden imports rising 7.3 per cent to 361,056 TEU. Exports were up 19.9 per cent to 142,412 TEU while empties fell 4.6 per cent to 183,959 TEU.
Through the first five months of the year, the port has moved 3.2 million TEU, 14.6 per cent above last year's pace.
'International trade continues to be a thriving part of the economy, and cargo continues to flow across our docks as we focus on delivering goods quickly, efficiently and at a good cost,' said Harbour Commission President Lou Anne Bynum.
'We look forward to a robust peak season this summer and fall. West coast seaports are typically busier in the summer months as retailers stock up for the holidays.
'E-commerce has transformed the supply chain to deliver goods rapidly and then replenish them based on consumer demand,' said Port of Long Beach executive director Mario Cordero.
'Since the US economy is strong, that's part of our record May result, which also ranks as one of our best months ever,' he said.
Changes in alliance choices in San Pedro Bay favouring Long Beach has been blamed for the drop in container throughput at Los Angeles.
Laden imports boxes in May came to 405,587 TEU, falling 1.8 per cent year on year, while laden exports slipped 0.8 per cent to 168,681 TEU. Empties stood at 194,537 TEU, down 8.9 per cent.
Five months into 2018, overall volumes have decreased 4.4 per cent to 3.59 million TEU compared to 2017, when the port set an all-time cargo record.
Said LA port executive director Gene Seroka 'Volumes have softened due to continued shuffling of alliance services in the San Pedro Bay. The port remains focused on digitising our value chain. Our aim is to introduce the GE Port Optimizer this summer with the support of our liner and terminal partners.'