The Port of Los Angeles saw container volumes decline in February after a record-setting January.

In February, 625,381 twenty-foot equivalent containers (TEUs) moved through the port, compared to 713,721 TEU’s a year ago, a decrease of 12.4 percent. There were 298,974 full cargo containers that landed at the port, 155,357 containers left the port as well as 171,048 empty containers, a 12.5 percent decrease compared to the same month a year ago.

“While volumes eased compared to the record cargo we saw last February, I’m pleased that we’ve seen year-over-year growth to start 2017,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said. “We are actively engaged on many fronts to grow cargo volumes and jobs in the San Pedro Bay.”

According to port officials, February 2017 volumes were up 7.2 percent, compared to the port’s most recent 5-year average.

The Port of Los Angeles had its busiest month ever last month, beating the record-holding January 2016 with the number of cargo containers increasing 17.4 percent, compared to a year earlier. They also had a record setting 2016, with almost 8.9 million TEUs, making it the busiest year ever for a Western Hemisphere port.

The Aug. 31 bankruptcy of Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd., had a part to play as much of the cargo originally meant for Hanjin’s Port of Long Beach terminal was redirected to L.A.’s terminals instead.

The Port of Long Beach also saw a decline in the month of February. They said the Lunar New Year was the main reason for the slowdown.

Manufacturing and trade reporter Shwanika Narayan can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @shwanika.