The ports continued firing on all cylinders in September, as each of them set personal records for the month.
Dockworkers at the Port of Los Angeles moved 954,706 containers in September, while those at the Port of Long Beach handled 829,499 containers. Not only do these represent the best-ever September for each port; they also cap off record quarters for them.
“Just as impressive as these new records is the fact that we managed all this cargo with skill and efficiency,” said Port of L.A. Executive Director Gene Seroka in a statement. “None of this would be possible without the incredible efforts of our longshore workers, truckers, terminal and rail operators, and other supply chain partners. Their hard work has allowed us to achieve all these records and still be able to handle additional volume.”
Broken down, the Port of L.A.’s figures included 497,803 loaded import containers and 114,702 loaded exports. Meanwhile, the Port of Long Beach had 416,999 import containers and 88,289 exports. The remaining totals account for empty containers either unloaded from or loaded onto ships.
On the year, the ports have combined to handle more than 14.5 million containers and are well within striking distance of topping last year’s total of more than 16.6 million containers. This past quarter alone, the Port of L.A. handled more than 2.85 million containers while the Port of Long Beach moved nearly 2.63 million containers.
Port officials noted that shippers continue to account for an unsteady labor situation on the East and Gulf Coast ports – a situation similar to what West Coast ports experienced last year. Dockworkers at those competitor ports went on strike for three days in October as negotiations on a new contract continued.
And there of course remain other disruptions affecting trade in the Eastern half of the country – the continuing attacks on Red Sea vessels by Houthi terrorists in Yemen and the Panama Canal’s drought-induced slowdown of traffic.
“We have plenty of room across our terminals as the peak shipping season drives a record amount of cargo through this critical gateway for trans-Pacific trade,” said Port of Long Beach Chief Executive Mario Cordero in a statement. “We are anticipating continued growth through the rest of the year as retailers stock the shelves for the winter holidays.”
Average cargo dwell times – the period in which offloaded containers wait at terminals before being loaded onto trains or drayage trucks – reflected September volumes. Truck-destined cargo waited about 3.21 days before being loaded – roughly comparable to the prior September. However, rail-bound cargo had dwell times of 9.25 days, well above the prior September’s 6.54 days.
Natasha Villa, external affairs manager of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, said these disparities highlight the demand growth of rail.
“The divergence in truck dwell times and rail dwell times highlights the trend in diversifying discretionary cargo across the entire logistics network, a consistent flow of local cargo, and a surge in inland-destined intermodal cargo through the nation’s premier import gateway,” she said in a statement. “Our marine terminals continue to work diligently to balance capacity and maintain fluidity, providing supply chain system resilience, and ensuring that the nation’s goods keep moving.”
