by Lloyd's List

18 December 2024 (Lloyd's List) - THE PORTS of Los Angeles and Long Beach continued to handle record amounts of cargo in November despite a typical slowdown from October, as strong import demand and shippers’ fear of labour disruptions on the east and Gulf coasts keep driving volumes west.

The San Pedro Bay ports handled a combined 1.8m teu in total throughput and 890,988 teu of imports in November, according to cargo figures released by the ports and aggregated by Lloyd’s List.

That constituted their highest-ever levels for the month of November, and an increase of 5.1% and 5.7% on total throughput and imports, respectively, from next-best November in 2020.

Combined total throughput fell about 6.5% from October, which was the ports’ second strongest-ever month. Volumes tend to decline from October to November, as has been the case in five of the last six years.

“Imports are being driven by strong consumer demand while retailers continue to move cargo here out of concern for labour negotiations at ports on the East and Gulf coasts,” Port of Long Beach chief executive Mario Cordero said in a statement on Tuesday.

Echoing that sentiment during a Port of Los Angeles press conference on Tuesday, the port’s executive director, Gene Seroka, said renewed concern over a labour strike in January has “increased cargo movements through Los Angeles” as importers divert cargo as a hedge.

The increased flows are putting the San Pedro Bay port complex on pace for its second-best year on record, falling short only of pandemic-era 2021.

Through November, the two ports have handled 18.2m teu, up by almost 3m teu from the same period last year, and about 350,000 teu short of 2021.

Individually, the port of Long Beach is set to have its busiest year on record, while Los Angeles will likely have its second-busiest year.