An ongoing cargo boom largely driven by online purchases lifted the Port of Long Beach to its strongest April on record.
Dockworkers and terminal operators moved 746,188 twenty-foot equivalent units in April, a 43.6% increase from the same month last year. It was the first time the nation’s second-busiest seaport handled more than 700,000 TEUs in the month of April, surpassing the previous record set in April 2019 by 118,066 TEUs.
Imports grew 44.8% to 367,151 TEUs, while exports climbed 21% to 124,069 TEUs. Empty containers moved through the Port were up 55.8% to 254,970 TEUs. The Port has moved 3,122,315 TEUs during the first four months of 2021, a 41.8% increase from the same period in 2020.
April marked the 10th 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.