For the second straight month, the Port of Long Beach has seen overall cargo volumes rise year over year, according to new statistics released by the port Nov. 15.
Long Beach processed 14.7% more cargo last month than it did in October 2022 with 755,150 TEUs. The data showed that imports rose 23.6% to 363,300 TEUs, while exports fell 24.8% to 90,073 TEUs year over year.
October empty containers were up 23.3% to 301,777 TEUs compared to the same time last year.
The port is attributing the spike to the anticipation of holiday shopping and a continued push to regain market share.
“Cargo is rebounding, and we are continuing to collaborate with our industry partners to recapture market share and invest in infrastructure that will position us for future growth,” port CEO Mario Cordero said. “We are anticipating moderate growth through the rest of the year as retailers continue to stock shelves for the winter holidays.”
So far in 2023, Long Beach has handled more than 6.5 million TEUs, about 17.8% less than the same time period in 2022, data show. Although the port is trailing last year’s record numbers, volumes appear to be in line with the pre-pandemic numbers of 2019, when the port processed more than 6.36 million TEUs in the first 10 months of 2019.
