Port Volumes Down 6% for Year

The Port of Long Beach cargo volumes fall for the year.

LOS ANGELES—Cargo volumes at the Port of Long Beach fell again in November, showing a 13.8% decrease in traffic compared to November 2015. Imports fell 11.8% to 270,610 TEUs, while exports declined 3.1% to 120,897 TEUs, while empty TEUs numbered 142,801, a decrease of 24.2%. This is the third consecutive month that cargo volumes have decreased at the port. As a result, the total cargo volume for the year is down 5.6%.

“The downturn in container numbers at the Port of Long Beach is mainly due to the effects of the Hanjin bankruptcy along with the current alliance structure that has seen that cargo that would have been carried by Hanjin to and from Long Beach instead going to other carriers moving through the Port of Los Angeles,” Lee Peterson of the Port of Long Beach tells GlobeSt.com. “You can also see that in Los Angeles’ record cargo numbers for the past two months. On top of that, our own November in 2015 was quite busy, and set a high bar.”