Port of Los Angeles volumes increase 12.7% in March 2019

The Port of Los Angeles handled 650,977 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in March, an increase of 12.7 percent compared to 2018. For the first quarter of 2019, container volumes grew 4.6 percent, the company said in its release.
 
"Despite global trade uncertainties, we experienced strong first quarter growth,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka. “I commend our supply chain stakeholders who have processed record amounts of cargo in recent months and we anticipate greater efficiency improvement with the Port Optimizer™ that was rolled out in the first quarter. Retailers are forecasting an uptick in summer consumer demand and we are ready for those boxes.”
 
March 2019 imports increased 12.4 percent to 297,187 TEUs compared to the previous year. Exports decreased 2.9 percent to 158,924 TEUs. Empty containers increased 30.2 percent to 194,866 TEUs.
 
For the first three months of 2019, Port volumes have increased 4.6 percent compared to the same period last year.
 
The Port of Los Angeles is America’s premier port and has a strong commitment to developing innovatively strategic and sustainable operations that benefit Southern California’s economy and quality of life. North America’s leading seaport by container volume and cargo value, the Port of Los Angeles facilitated $284 billion in trade during 2017. San Pedro Bay port complex operations and commerce facilitate one in nine jobs in the five-county Southern California region.