The Port of Long Beach last month achieved its busiest September and quarter in its 104-year history, signaling a return to pre-recession trade levels.
Measured by individual containers of freight, cargo volume at the Port of Long Beach climbed 4.1 percent in September compared to the same period last year, to 655,624 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of boxed cargo. The year’s third quarter — July through September — topped 2 million TEUs in a first for the Port, and improved 14.8 percent over the third quarter of 2014.
Through the first nine months of 2015 the Port has seen a 5.2 percent increase in cargo volume compared to the same period last year. At this rate, the Port would finish the year with more than 7 million TEUs for only the third time in its history -- the last time was 2007.
This year's third quarter saw 10.6 percent more imports and 10.5 percent more exports, compared to the third quarter of 2014.
For September alone, imports dipped 1.9 percent compared to the same month last year, to 332,909 TEUs. Exports grew 6.1 percent to 125,639 TEUs. Empty containers rose 14.6 percent to 197,076 TEUs. With imports exceeding exports, empty containers are sent overseas to be refilled with goods.