The Port of Long Beach experienced record container volumes in September and the third quarter due to strong consumer demand and shippers preparing for a potential longshore strike at East and Gulf Coast ports.
In September, the Southern California gateway handled 829,499 twenty-foot equivalent units, just surpassing the previous record set in September 2023 by 70 TEUs. This marked the fourth consecutive monthly year-over-year increase. Imports saw a 2% increase to 416,999 TEUs, while exports declined by 12.8% to 88,289 TEUs. Empty containers also rose by 1.5% to 324,211 TEUs.
The third-quarter volume reached 2,625,747 TEUs, surpassing the previous record set in the second quarter of 2022 by 78,628 TEUs.
Port of Long Beach Chief Executive Mario Cordero expressed confidence in the port’s capacity to handle the peak shipping season, stating that there is ample room across terminals for the record amount of cargo passing through the gateway. He anticipated continued growth throughout the year as retailers stock up for the winter holidays.
Overall, container traffic totaled 6,917,373 TEUs in the first nine months of 2024, showing an 18.8% increase year-over-year.
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