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Los Angeles Port volume falls 21.5% in September, ends 25 months of record growth
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Despite lower throughput, the port is on track to for second-best year in its history
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Long Beach also sees its volume drop partly due to weak demand and liners East Coast shift
The Port of Los Angeles snapped its record 25 months of growth as cargo volume fell 21.5% year-on-year in September 2022, as traders stocked up in advance for the coming holidays and liners shifted calls to US East Coast ports to avoid congestion on the West Coast.
In neighboring Port of Long Beach, volume in September eased 0.9% to 741,823 TEUs due to diminishing consumer demand, full warehouses and inflation concerns led to a decline in cargo containers. The port was also affected by the carriers’ move to East Coast ports.
Port of Los Angeles, the Western Hemisphere’s busiest port, reported on October 19 a throughput of 709,873 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in September 2022, nearly a quarter less than the 903,865 TEUs a year ago, its busiest September on record.
Closing out the third quarter, the port had processed 7,864,514 TEUs in the first nine months of 2022, about 4% down from last year’s record pace.
Port of Los Angeles’ loaded imports reached 343,462 TEUs in September 2022, down 27% from the previous year. Loaded exports came in at 77,680 TEUs, up 3% from September last year. Empty containers landed at 288,731 TEUs, down 20% from a year ago.
The September decline led executive director Eugene Seroka to expect “soft” year-end results with a consolation.
“Despite what will likely be a soft ending to 2022, we are on track to have the second-best year in our history,” Seroka said at a media briefing on October 19.
“More importantly, the cargo backlog that began last year has been nearly eliminated due to the diligent, combined efforts of our supply chain partners.”
Since June this year, shipping lines have been shifting to ports on the East Coast to load and offload cargo to avoid congestion in the West Coast ports, scene of the worst congestion in January-February this year when more than 150 vessels a day waited several days to berth.
Congestion peaked again in July, when the number of vessels queuing up outside the port was more than 150, but has since improved to fewer than 100 this week and appeared in East Coast ports while cargo flow eased on the West Coast.
“This shift in congestion is a result of the significant shift of volumes from west to east over the course of the year as shippers sought to avoid a repeat of last year’s West Coast delays and steer clear of the still unresolved West Coast labor dispute,” said Judah Levine, head of research at Freightos.
In Wednesday’s briefing, Seroka was joined by Jay Timmons, president and chief executive of the National Association of Manufacturers. Timmons discussed the critical role the port plays in delivering parts and components to factories throughout America.
Meanwhile, Port of Long Beach posted on October 18 a cargo throughput of 741,823 TEUs for September, down 0.9% from September 2021. Imports decreased 7.4% to 342,671 TEUs, while exports increased 1.9% to 112,940 TEUs. Empty containers that were moved through the port rose 7% to 286,212 TEUs.
The port had moved 7,342,383 TEUs in the first nine months of 2022, up 3.5% from the same period in 2021. Additionally, the port processed 2,334,605 TEUs between July 1 and Sept. 30, down 0.3% from the third quarter of 2021.
“Consumers and retailers are concerned about inflation, leading to warehouses filled with inventory and fewer product orders from Asia,” said port executive director Mario Cordero.
“The respite is leading to increased capacity on the docks and fewer ships waiting off the coast to enter the Port.”
Long Beach Harbor Commission president Sharon L. Weissman expressed her appreciation for the gateway’s longshoremen, marine terminal operators, truckers and other industry partners, saying they “continue to move cargo quickly, reliably and sustainably.”
“We’re hoping to close the year on a positive note that focuses on our efforts to improve cargo flow while dramatically enhancing air quality,” Weismann said.
