Ports of Los Angeles/ Long Beach See September Cargo Volumes Cool

SAN PEDRO/LONG BEACH — With high levels of retail and other inventory already on shelves and in warehouses, the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach both report cargo volume eased again in September.

The Port of Los Angeles handled 709,873 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in September 2022, a 21.5% decrease from September 2021, which was the port’s busiest September on record.

Closing out the third quarter, the Port of Los Angeles has processed 7,864,514 TEUs during the first nine months of 2022, about 4% down from last year’s record pace.

September 2022 loaded imports reached 343,462 TEUs, down 27% compared to the previous year. Loaded exports came in at 77,680 TEUs, up 3% compared to last September. Empty containers landed at 288,731 TEUs, a 20% decline compared to last year.

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The Port of Long Beach pointed to diminishing consumer demand and inflation concerns, leading to a decline in cargo containers moved in September.

Dockworkers and terminal operators moved 741,823 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo containers last month, down 0.9% from September 2021. Imports decreased 7.4% to 342,671 TEUs, while exports increased 1.9% to 112,940 TEUs. Empty containers moved through the Port rose 7% to 286,212 TEUs.

The Port of Long Beach has moved 7,342,383 TEUs during the first nine months of 2022, up 3.5% from the same period in 2021. Additionally, the Port processed 2,334,605 TEUs between July 1 and Sept. 30, down 0.3% from the third quarter of 2021.