The Port of Long Beach has recorded its second-busiest October since it began tracking cargo movements through the port.
In October 2021, dockworkers and terminal operators moved 789,716 TEU. While successful, it does also show a 2.1% reduction in throughput when compared to the port’s strongest October on record in 2020.
Imports decreased by 4.3% to 385,000 TEU, while exports increased by 6.6% to 122,214 TEU. Lastly, empty containers moved declined by 2.4% to 282,502 TEU.
“Every sector of the supply chain has reached capacity and it is time for all of us to step up and get these goods delivered,” said Mario Cordero, Executive Director for the Port of Long Beach. “In Long Beach, we are trying to add capacity by searching for vacant land to store containers, expanding the hours of operation at terminals, and implementing a fee that will incentivise ocean carriers to pull their containers out of the port as soon as possible.”
Steven Neal, President of the Long Beach Harbor Commission, added “We are working around the clock at the port. We’re doing everything we can with help from the supply chain to get goods off the ships and onto store shelves in time for the holidays.”
In the first 10 months of 2021, the port has moved 7,884,565 TEU, showing an increase of 21% compared to the same period in 2020. It now expects to move over 9 million TEU by the end of 2021, surpassing the current record of 8.1 million TEU in 2020.
The Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles have recently introduced a surcharge to ocean carriers for import containers that dwell on marine terminals in an attempt to alleviate some of the congestion the ports currently face.
Under the policy, the ports will charge ocean carriers for each container that falls into one of two categories. For containers moved by truck, ocean carriers will be charged for every container dwelling for nine days or more. Alternatively, for containers moving by rail, ocean carriers will be charged if the container has dwelled for three days or more.
This programme was introduced from 1 November 2021 and ocean carriers with cargo in either of those categories will be charged $100 per container, increasing in $100 increments per container per day.
