Expect Another Record Year for Port Cargo Volumes

The Port of Long Beach is on track for another record year of cargo volumes for 2018. In November, cargo volumes at the port increased 1.5% over November 2017, pushing the port to 7,349,377 TEUs of cargo for the year. As a result, the Port of Long Beach says that it is “virtually certain” that it will surpass last year’s cargo volume record of 7,544,507 TEUs. The strong cargo activity is a signal of a healthy and growing economy.

“Cargo moved is an indicator of how well the economy is doing. By that measure, the economy is doing well,” Lee Peterson of the Port of Long Beach tells GlobeSt.com. “2017 and 2018 are the first years since the Great Recession that the Port has surpassed the pre-recession levels of cargo. That’s the significance, that the upswing in the economy has shown progress in increasing trade.”

The tight industrial market in Southern California—which continues to tighten—is another sign of the strong cargo activity in 2018. The Port of Long Beach sees the industrial market as a major benefit for the port. “There is more than a billion square feet of warehouse space in Southern California, which is a great asset for the logistics industry,” says Peterson. “We believe the tightness of the industrial real estate market is a function of the Southern California general real estate market.”