Four months into 2018, the Port of Long Beach has moved 2.5 million TEUs, an amount more than 17% above last year’s record pace. In April, dockworkers handled 618,438 TEUs, a 10.8% increase above the same month last year.
Import containers increased by 8.4% to 312,376 TEUs compared to last April. The number of exports moved through Long Beach jumped 22% to 141,799 TEUs, and empty containers sent overseas to be filled with goods totaled 164,264 TEUs, up 7%.
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Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero, stated:
Both imports and exports are beating expectations so far this year. For us, part of that is the shift of services we saw a year ago, but at least some of our strong growth appears to be a result of trade tensions as anxious shippers rush to get their cargo to overseas markets.
As the global economy is starting to expand, the Port of Long Beach expects to “play a big role since we’re a natural trade conduit between China and the United States, the world’s two largest economies,” Harbor Commission President Lou Anne Bynum added.
