Business, Feature, Freight News, Sea

Peak Season Goods Spur Long Beach Record

[ October 18, 2024   //   Gary G Burrows ]

Demand for holiday-related goods nudged the Port of Long Beach to its most active September and busiest quarter on record, as shippers continued to move goods ahead of a labor contract deadline for East and Gulf coasts ports that resulted in a three-day strike at the start of October.
Dockworkers and terminal operators moved 829,499 20-foot equivalent units, or TEUs last month, up just 70 TEUs from the previous record set in September 2023. September also marked the port’s fourth consecutive monthly year-over-year cargo increase.
Imports increased 2 percent to 416,999 TEUs, exports declined 12.8 percent to 88,289 TEUs and empty containers moving through the port rose 1.5 percent to 324,211 TEUs.
“We have plenty of room across our terminals as the peak shipping season drives a record amount of cargo through this critical gateway for transpacific trade,” said Mario Cordero, Port of Long Beach CEO. “We are anticipating continued growth through the rest of the year as retailers stock the shelves for the winter holidays.”
For the first nine months of 2024, the port has moved 6.92 million TEUs, up 18.8 percent from the same period last year. It was also the port’s busiest quarter overall with 2.63 million TEUs moved between July 1 and Sept. 30, breaking the previous record of 78,628 TEUS set during the second quarter of 2022.

Tags: Port of Long Beach