Ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles See Surging Cargo Volumes
Long Beach saw a YOY surge of 24% in November, L.A. grows by 19%.
The Port of Long Beach has recaptured significant market share with a November surge in cargo volume of 24%, in a year-over-year comparison, much of it fueled by a surge in online sales during the holiday season.
November’s cargo haul of 731,034 TEUs marked the third consecutive monthly increase.
“We remain optimistic as cargo returns to this critical gateway for trans-Pacific trade,” Mario Cordero, the Port of Long Beach CEO, said in a statement. “We are recapturing market share, online shopping is on the rise and retailers are keeping the shelves stocked to meet rising consumer demand.”
Cordero noted that shippers continued to reposition cargo back to West Coast seaports in November, lifting trade for a third consecutive month. The port’s strong results were driven by a 37% increase in imports in a year-over-year comparison.
Measured in cargo flows, the logistics traffic at the Port of Long Beach has been on pace with pre-pandemic levels, when nearly 7M TEUs came through the port in the first 11 months of 2019. During the first 11 months of 2023, the Port of Long Beach has moved 7.3M total TEUs.
Cargo volume notched 19% growth in the Port of Los Angeles in November, in a year-over-year comparison, hitting a total of 763,262 TEUs.
The picture at Bay Area ports was not as bright. Volumes at the Port of Oakland fell 10% year-over-year to 166,378 total TEUs in November, the fourth consecutive month of declining volumes.
“We saw some canceled sailings in November as evidenced by the dip in vessel calls last month. This caused our volumes to drop,” said Bryan Brandes, Port of Oakland Maritime Director, in a release.
The Port of New York and New Jersey has been experiencing what it has been calling a “resettling” of cargo volumes in the wake of record-setting years in 2021 and 2022, going back to the West Coast cargo diversions.
Cargo volumes at the Port of New York and New Jersey fell 22% year-over-year to 660,553 TEUs in September.
“For the year so far, the seaport was the nation’s third-busiest container port, which reflects a resetting of cargo volumes following record setting years in 2021 and 2022,” the Port of NY/NJ said in a statement at the end of the third quarter.