The Port of Long Beach (POLB) marked its strongest August on record and broke monthly cargo records after 13 months, driven by the peak shipping season.
Particularly, the second busiest port of the United States (US) handled 807,704TEU in August, representing an increase of 11.3% compared to the same month of the previous year.
In addition, imports noted an 11.7% growth, completing 407,426TEU, while exports decreased by 5.3% to 119,485TEU, in comparison to August of 2020.
At the same time, empty containers moved through the Californian Port reached 280,794TEU, which translates to a year-on-year rise of 19.7%.
The port stated that cargo traffic was increased thanks to the heightened inventory replacement and the start of the peak shipping season, which traditionally runs from August to October as retailers prepare for the upcoming holiday season.
“It’s peak season now, but we’re likely to see continued cargo growth well into 2022,” said Mario Cordero, Executive Director of the Port of Long Beach, who went on to add that “in order to stay on top of this cargo, the port will need to find the long-term solutions that will satisfy consumer demand, increase efficiency and reduce costs for our customers.”
Although consumer demand softened slightly from a month earlier, overall retail sales in August were roughly 18% above pre-pandemic levels.
Over the first eight months of the year, POLB has recorded a year-on-year rise of more than 29% in container throughput by handling more than 6.3 million TEU.
