The seaports in Long Beach and Oakland, Calif. saw increased cargo volumes last month, benefiting from retailers gearing up for the back-to-school and holiday seasons, according to recently released data.
The Port of Long Beach saw its busiest July and third-busiest month ever with 882,376 TEUs last month, a 52.6% year-over-year jump from 2023, according to data released Aug. 14. It beat its July 2022 cargo record by 12.4%, the port said.
Imports in July spiked 60.5% to 435,081 TEUs, while exports went up 16.3% to 104,834 TEUs, the data show.
Long Beach moved 20% more cargo in the first seven months of this year than it did over the same time period last year with 5,174,002 TEUs, according to POLB statistics.
“We’re in a strong position heading into the peak shipping season as consumers purchase back-to-school supplies and shippers move goods ahead of potential tariff increases,” Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero said.
“We have plenty of capacity across our terminals and cargo continues to move efficiently and sustainably,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Port of Oakland reported more modest year-over-year growth of overall loaded cargo volumes last month: 2.4% from July 2023, according to data released Aug. 22.
Full imports were up 2.6% year over year with 80,135 TEUs in July, while full exports rose 2.2% with 59,362 TEUs.
The last six months saw full imports up 18.8% compared to the same time period in 2023, Oakland statistics show.
“We are encouraged that demand for imports is steadily increasing and anticipate the remainder of the year to be strong,” Port of Oakland Maritime Director Bryan Brandes said. “This growth reflects an influx of back-to-school and holiday goods across our docks.”
