Traffic volumes up at Port of Long Beach in June

Port of Long Beach

Both import and export container traffic at the Port of Long Beach rose in June compared to the same period a year ago, with imports up 3.5% and exports up 5.6%.

Last month, Port terminals moved 280,526 TEU of loaded inbound cargo compared to 271,113 TEU in June 2011. Export containers accounted for 133,649 TEU compared to 126,588 TEU in June 2011.

Overall, the Port moved 555,359 TEU up 0.2 percent from last year. The gains in imports and exports was offset by a drop in empty container moves. The Port moved 141,184 TEU of empty containers in June, more than any other month this year, but a drop of 9.8% from a year ago. Empty containers are sent overseas to be refilled with goods.

June was the busiest month year to date for calendar year 2012. Through first half of the year, overall container traffic at the Port was down 5%. The decrease in volumes is partly due to the elimination of several niche service strings that had called at the Port last year. < Korea Shipping Gazette >