OCTOBER CONTAINER VOLUMES INCREASE 4.6% AT THE PORT OF LOS ANGELES

Port  Working to Resolve Congestion Issues

SAN PEDRO, Calif. — November 17, 2014 — The Port of Los Angeles has released its October 2014 containerized cargo volumes. In October 2014, overall volumes increased 4.6 percent compared to October 2013. Total cargo for October  was 715,682 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs).    

“While increasing cargo volume is our objective, the congestion circumstances in recent months have caused delays for cargo owners that absolutely must and will be resolved,” said Port Executive Director Gene Seroka. “We continue working with our customers and logistics partners to do everything possible to relieve the current situation and design solutions that will better enable the supply chain in the future.”

Seroka  and his port team have facilitated recent meetings that resulted in a new chassis distribution model to be implemented on February 1.  Additionally,  Port officials are working with stakeholders on short and long-term solutions to improve operational efficiencies and cargo velocity throughout the logistics chain. Information technology solutions will be a central theme of the required design improvements.

For the first ten months of calendar year 2014, overall volumes (7,018,152 TEUs) have increased 7.5 percent compared to the same period in 2013 (6,531,374 TEUs). The increase reflects the conclusion of peak season volumes and larger vessels calling at the Port of Los Angeles.
           
Container imports increased 7.2 percent, from 346,137 TEUs in October 2013 to 370,938 TEUs in October 2014. Exports declined  6.7 percent, from 169,568 TEUs in October  2013 to 158,181 TEUs in October 2014. U.S. exports have declined in 2014 due to weaker demand abroad and a stronger U.S. dollar, which makes U.S. goods more expensive.
  
Combined, total loaded imports and exports increased 2.6 percent, from 515,705 TEUs in October 2013 to 529,119 TEUs in October 2014. Factoring in empties, which increased 10.7 percent year over year, overall October 2014 volumes (715,682 TEUs) rose 4.6 percent compared to October 2013 (684,207 TEUs).

Current and past data container counts for the Port of Los Angeles may be found at: