NEW YORK: Container cargo volume dipped in June at the Port of Long Beach, decreasing 4.4 percent compared to the same month last year, officials reported on the other day.
Similar declines were reported Wednesday at the Port of Los Angeles, which saw container traffic slump 2 percent in June compared to the same month in 2014. Nearly 722,000 20-foot equivalent units moved through Los Angeles port complex last month.
A total of 583,621 TEUs were moved through the Port of Long Beach in June. Imports were recorded at 297,189 TEUs, a 6 percent decrease. Exports decreased 8.4 percent to 128,223 TEUs.
Empty containers rose 2.4 percent with 158,209 TEUs. With imports exceeding exports, empty containers are sent back overseas to be refilled with consumer goods.
June 2014, the month against which June 2015 is being compared, was particularly busy, as shippers prepared for the expiration of the West Coast longshore labor contract, officials from both ports said.
Those contract talks did not conclude until late February. A severe slowdown at the ports preceded the end of negotiations, but shipping activity has since bounced back.
Through the first six months of 2015, Long Beach cargo numbers are essentially flat compared to the same period last year, up 0.1 percent overall.
