Cargo activity at the Port of Los Angeles was flat in April, though loaded import containers usually destined for U.S. retailers were up 4.7 percent compared to the same time last year, according to figures released by harbor officials today.
The trade port moved 656,177 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units, or TEUs, in April, which is 1 percent below the same month last year. The decrease was driven by a 10.9 percent drop in the number of empty containers, which make up about a quarter of the overall volume.
More important than empty containers is loaded container activity, which grew 2.9 percent last month, according to Port spokesman Phillip Sanfield.
Loaded imports rose 4.7 percent to 343,574 TEUs, while exports were flat, falling 1 percent to 144,103 TEUs, he said.
Sanfield said the level of loaded import activity is a “key indicator” because it represents goods flowing in from Asia and headed to the shelves of U.S. retailers, while the lack of empty container activity can sometimes mean that some “empties” are being held back to be used later for exports later in the year.
Harbor officials, who serve as landlords to cargo carriers, noted that overall volumes so far this year are up 8 percent over the same four months last year.
“We’re encouraged that shippers and supply chain decision-makers continue to show confidence in the Port of Los Angeles,” Port Executive Director Gene Seroka said.
Though “the pace of global trade and U.S. retailer imports has eased recently, our work and progress on supply chain optimization has put the Port of Los Angeles on track to drive market opportunities,” Seroka said.
—City News Service