Freight News, Sea

July Container Volumes Dip in Long Beach

[ August 23, 2018   //   Gary G Burrows ]

The Port of Long Beach saw a decline in container volumes in July compared to the same month a year ago, which hit a historic high that has since been surpassed.
The drop, 4.4%, was attributed to shipping alliances’ decisions in July to shift vessel deployment and port calls. Port officials also raised concerns that escalating tariffs could slow trade activity — thus far the busiest in the Port’s 107-year history — during the remainder of the year.
In total, terminals moved 688,457 TEUs through Long Beach last month. Imports dropped 8.2% to 347,736 TEUs, while exports fell 5% to 119,747 TEUs. Ships departing the Port took 220,975 empty TEUs overseas, up 2.6%.
For the calendar year, the Port of Long Beach is on pace for its busiest year ever, topping 2017. Through July, volumes are 11.3% or almost half a million TEUs over the same period in 2017, totaling 4.6 million TEUs. June 2018 volume at the Port was the highest in its history, at 752,188 TEUs.