The Port of Long Beach achieved its busiest September on record. It was boosted by consumer demand for holiday-related goods, recent ratification of a labor pact between dockworkers and management. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association announced a tentative agreement on June 14. Dockworkers of the ILWU ratified the six-year contract on Aug. 31.
Dockworkers and terminal operators moved 829,429 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in September, up 11.8% from the same month last year and surpassing the previous record set in September 2020 by 78,849 TEUs.
September also marked the port’s first monthly year-over-year cargo increase in 14 months.
Imports rose 19.3% to 408,926 TEUs, while exports declined 10.3% to 101,248 TEUs.
Empty containers moving through the Port grew 11.5% to 319,255 TEUs.
“Consumer confidence is on the rise and shippers can rely on the Port of Choice now that we have a ratified contract in place with our waterfront workforce,” said Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero, in a statement.. “We look forward to a moderate rebound in cargo volume through the end of the year.”
During the first nine moths of 2013, the Port has moved 5,822,666 TEUs down 20.7% from the same period last year.
Cargo volume this year has been on pace with pre-pandemic levels, when the Port of Long Beach moved more than 5.7 million TEUs through September 2019.
Additionally, the Port processed 2,089,990 TEUs between July 1 and Sept. 30, down 10.5% from the third quarter of 2022.
