Traffic in cargo containers was slow in Long Beach’s Port of Long Beach in April, as people kept their spending to a minimum and shippers moved trade across to the West Coast to seaports on the East and Gulf coasts.

Terminal operators and dockworkers shipped 656,049 equivalent units of twenty feet (TEUs) during April which was down 20.1 percentage from April 2022. This was the busiest month for Port operations in history. Imports fell 21.8 percent to 31,444 TEUs while exports increased by only 0.6 percent up to 122,663 TEUs. The empty containers that moved through the Port declined by 26.2 percent, to 219,943 tEUs.

“The extraordinary consumer demand was seen at the height COVID-19’s severity has waned and freight flows are more in line with pre-pandemic levels” declared Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero. “We are expecting a slower growth rate in the second quarter 2023, when retailers are still removing excess stock out of their warehouses.”

“Our dockworkers, facilities, personnel and marine terminal operators remain to ensure that this is the most important port for the trans-Pacific movement of goods,” said Long Beach Harbor Commission President Sharon L. Weissman. “So we anticipate that cargo volume will increase in the near future as shippers search for superior customer service at this Port of Choice.”

The economists believe that the consumer’s spending has decreased from the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, Fed’s rate adjustment has slowed inflation in the way they is the plan.

The Port has shipped 2,377,375 tonnes of TEUs in the four initial months of 2023. This is which is down 27.5 percent from the exact period of 2022.

To view the complete list of cargo numbers, click here.

More information is available here:

Port of Long Beach

415 W. Ocean Boulevard.

Long Beach, CA 90802

or

P.O. Box 570

Long Beach, CA 90801

Tel. : +1 (562) 283-7000