The ports of Los Angeles and Oakland reported higher volumes of outbound empty containers in May, a sign that both ports are still working through the backlog created by labor strife earlier this year.
In Los Angeles, imports and exports were down with the exception of empty containers, which increased 7.9%. The Port of Oakland had its busiest month in four years, due largely to empty export containers, which were up 20% over last year.
“All of the containers sitting around in various points in the domestic supply chain have now reached their destinations, been unloaded and they’re now making way back to Asia,” said trade economist Jock O’Connell.
Once the ports returned to regular operations in February, after the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and their employers the Pacific Maritime Association reached a labor agreement, it took several weeks for the supply chain to get back to normal. Workers moved to unload the ships, truckers moved the containers from the port docks out to warehouses and distribution centers, then back to the port, empty, once they were unpacked.
In May, those empty containers boarded ships back to Asia.
With peak shipping season kicking off this month, however, those containers won’t stay in Asia long. Holiday goods are beginning to make their way back across the Pacific, and the peak will continue through October.
“The lingering question now,” Mr. O’Connell said, “is how many of those containers full of goods returning will come through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach?” Delays from the labor strife diverted traffic to east coast ports earlier this year, but the west coast ports are hoping to recover the lost volume this season.
Containerized cargo volumes in Los Angeles are down 4% for the year, compared to the same period in 2014. Oakland is down 9%.
Other major west coast ports, including Long Beach and Seattle-Tacoma, are expected to report May cargo volumes this week.
