by Lloyd's List
19 September 2024 (Lloyd's List) - COMBINED throughput at ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in July-August hit 3.69m teu, making it the busiest summer on record for the San Pedro Bay port complex.
The port of Long Beach reported last week that August was the strongest month in its 113 years of existence. Port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka said Wednesday that August was the port’s strongest month outside of the pandemic years.
For the two ports combined, August was the second-busiest month ever in terms of both total throughput and imports, which hit 1.87m teu and 966,231 teu, respectively. The only month with higher numbers in the ports’ history was May 2021, when they handled a combined total throughput of 1.92m teu, including 980,450 teu of imports.
Strong volumes are being driven by resilient US consumers and shippers’ wariness of upcoming tariffs and a potentially catastrophic strike at east and Gulf coast ports that could commence in less than two weeks.
Census Bureau data released Tuesday showed retail sales increased in August, topping analyst expectations. Retail sales were up 0.1% seasonally adjusted month over month and up 2.1% unadjusted year over year. The increase was fuelled by rising wages amid falling inflation, National Retail Federation chief economist Jack Kleinhenz observed.
The Federal Reserve’s decision on Wednesday to cut interest rates by a half-point is expected to further support consumer confidence.
“The American consumer continues to spend and that’s helping to power our economy,” Seroka said in a statement Wednesday.
“Some of the cargo arriving now is replenishing inventories even beyond the year-end holiday season.
“Combined with a steady flow of manufacturing parts and components, we should continue to see elevated volume in the near term.”
In a media briefing on Wednesday, Seroka said he expects September volumes will again surpass the 900,000 teu mark.
However, he cautioned that “it’s possible that some of the early front-loading of cargo over the past several months could impact Q4 volumes”.
“Another factor to consider is Golden Week, a week-long holiday in China that [begins] October 1, when many workers will take a break, go visit family, and take vacations,” he said.
“Bottom line, I believe there is still some momentum left in this exceptionally strong peak season.”
