Strong April for the port of Long Beach
The US port of Long Beach witnessed a peak in container throughput in April 2019. Dockworkers at the port's marine terminals moved 628,121 teu last month. The previous record was 619,512 teu in April 2006.
Imports in April 2019 rose to 317,883 teu, 1.8% more than in April 2018. Exports decreased by 12.7% to 123,804 teu, and empties grew by 13.5% to 186,435 teu. The overall container volume was 1.6% higher than in April 2018.
The Californian port's executive director Mario Cordero said the surge in empties showed the lingering impacts of the rush of imported cargo in Q4/2018 when retailers stocked goods to outrun potential tariffs.
Four months into 2019, the port of Long Beach lifted more than 2.4 million teu, 3.1% less than the same time frame in 2018. (kd)