The Port of Long Beach has broken its record for the best first quarter, with marine terminals handling almost 1.9 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) from January through March.
The previous record for the first quarter was set in 2007.
The start represents a 19.4% increase over last year, which was reported as the Port’s busiest year to date.
Container throughput in March reached 575,258 TEUs, up 13.8% on the same month last year.
Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero said: “Our March cargo jumped despite the shipping slowdown during the Lunar New Year holiday in China.
“One of the most encouraging signs throughout this surge in cargo last year and this year is the operational efficiency at our marine terminals.
“We are handling record levels of cargo with no delays.”
Read the “Optimizing Port Throughput” technical paper for an in-depth discussion on efficiently managing container throughput
Import grew to 267.824 TEUs in March, 7.3% more than last year, whilst exports grew 18.3% to 142,419 TEUs.
Container ships at the port also moved 165,015 empty TEUs oversea to be refilled, fuelled by a higher demand of imported goods.
Harbor Commission President Lou Anne Bynum said: “Our business development trips are bringing us more trade activity.
“We see favorable responses during our visits with our overseas partners.
We’re pleased to be off to a great start in 2018 following a successful 2017 for us and our industry partners.”
