Total container traffic at the Port of Los Angeles for the fiscal year to October was up 19.37 per cent on the same period last year, according to official port figures, illustrating a recovery in trade as the effects of the global financial crisis recede.
The port, the largest in the US, reported year-on-year growth for the calendar year to October hit 16.88 per cent, and movement for October was 682,384.5 20-foot equivalent container units (TEU) including empties, a 5.4 per cent rise on the same month last year.
That rise was even more significant because October is historically the peak shipping period for the port, as it was last year. This year, however, that pre-Christmas peak came in August, with volumes tallying 11 per cent higher than October.
October inbound traffic tailed off a little from September, signifying an end to that peak season push to stock up ahead of the end of year holidays.
“Retailers were concerned about a shortage of cargo containers and they ordered early this year to make sure they had enough goods for the holiday season,” Nancy Sidhu, chief economist at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp, told the Los Angeles Times. “The fact that these numbers were still higher than what had been 2009’s best month is significant.”
Exports increased slightly – 0.26 per cent – which the port said was an encouraging sign.
“The bigger picture is that we have had a better-than-expected recovery so far this year,” said port spokesman Phillip Sanfield.
Cargo movement at the Port of Los Angeles reached a peak of 8.5m TEU in 2006 before the declining economy took its toll.
Movement declined to 6.7m TEU in the 2009 calendar year, but that trend looks set to reverse this year. Total cargo movement was 6,552,280.10 TEU for the 2010 calendar year up to October, compared to 5,605,798.65 TEU the same time last year.
