PORT OF LOS ANGELES CARGO VOLUME REMAINS SOFT
SAN PEDRO, Calif. – Nov. 15, 2022 – Cargo volume at the Port of Los Angeles dropped in October as the Port handled 678,429 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs), a 25% decrease from October 2021. The Port of Los Angeles has processed 8,542,944 TEUs during the first 10 months of 2022, about 6% down from last year’s record pace.
“With cargo owners bringing goods in early this year, our peak season was in June and July instead of September and October,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said during a media briefing. “Additionally, cargo has shifted away from the West Coast as some shippers await the conclusion of labor contract negotiations. We’ll do everything in our power to get that cargo back because the best route between Asia and the United States is straight through the Port of Los Angeles.”
Seroka was joined at the briefing by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Dr. Jerry Nickelsburg, Director of the UCLA Anderson Forecast. Garcetti offered his thoughts as he leaves office after two terms leading America’s second-largest city. Dr. Nickelsburg offered an overview of key economic factors in 2023 and its potential impact on global trade.
“In a time of great uncertainty it is important to look at data, the evidence, to understand recessions, inflation, and policy as they affect the economy going forward,” Dr. Nickelsburg said. For 70 years, the UCLA Anderson Forecast has been a leading, unbiased forecasting organization focused on global, national, state and local economies.
October 2022 loaded imports reached 336,307 TEUs, down 28% compared to the previous year. Loaded exports came in at 89,722 TEUs, a decline of 8.7% compared to last October. Empty containers landed at 252,401 TEUs, a 25% year-over-year decline.
Current and historical cargo data, including fiscal year-end totals, are available here.