The Port of Long Beach saw record container volumes in September and in the third quarter amid robust consumer demand and shippers moving goods ahead of a longshore strike at East and Gulf Coast ports.
The Southern California gateway handled 829,499 twenty-foot equivalent units in September, narrowly up by 70 TEUs from the previous record set in September 2023, and the fourth consecutive monthly year-over-year increase.
Imports were up 2% to 416,999 TEUs while exports slipped 12.8% to 88,289 TEUs. Empty containers increased 1.5% to 324,211 TEUs.
Third-quarter volume of 2,625,747 TEUs topped the previous record set during the second quarter of 2022 by 78,628 TEUs.
“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 release. “We are anticipating continued growth through the rest of the year as retailers stock the shelves for the winter holidays.”
Container traffic totaled 6,917,373 TEUs during the first nine months of 2024, ahead 18.8% y/y.
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