Port of Long Beach container volumes up by 62.3% to 840,387 TEU in March 2020
The Port of Long Beach achieved its busiest month and its second-best quarter on record as consumers continued to practice physical distancing guidelines in March, according to the company's release.
Although March is traditionally one of the slowest months on the shipping calendar, dockworkers and terminal operators moved 840,387 twenty-foot equivalent units last month, a 62.3% jump from March 2020 and marking the largest year-over-year increase for a single month at the Port.
The previous “best month” record of 815,885 TEUs, set in December 2020, was surpassed by 24,502 TEUs. It was also the third time in the Port of Long Beach's 110-year history that it has handled more than 800,000 TEUs in a single month.
Imports rose 74% to 408,172 TEUs, while exports declined 3.9% to 139,710 TEUs compared to March 2020, when the economic effects of COVID-19 led to canceled sailings and fewer cargo shipments processed through Long Beach. Empty containers moved through the Port were up 112.5% to 292,505 TEUs.
March’s numbers mark the ninth consecutive month that the Port of Long Beach has broken cargo movement records for a particular month amid a historic cargo surge that started in July 2020.
The Port has moved 2,376,128 TEUs during the first quarter of 2021, a 41.2% increase from the same period in 2020. It was also the Port’s best first quarter on record, breaking the previous record set during the first three months of 2018 by 481,251 TEUs, and its second-best quarter overall, behind the fourth quarter of 2020.
The Port of Long Beach is the nation’s second-busiest seaport. With 175 shipping lines connecting Long Beach to 217 seaports, the Port handles $170 billion in trade annually, supporting more than 575,000 Southern California jobs.
