Container Imports Tumble at Los Angeles, Long Beach Ports

[mahatmakanejeeves]

The backup of container ships waiting to unload cargo in Southern California is growing even as import volumes fall. There are now more than 100 ships waiting to enter the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

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LOGISTICS REPORT

Container Imports Tumble at Los Angeles, Long Beach Ports

Last month’s surprise decline in inbound volumes seemed to reflect an increased number of smaller ships arriving at the ports, even as the line for entry to the major U.S. gateway complex grows

By Paul Berger
https://twitter.com/pdberger
[e-mail]
Dec. 15, 2021 6:13 pm ET

Container imports at the largest U.S. gateway for seaborne goods trade fell sharply in November, even as backups of ships waiting to unload cargo at the Southern California ports have been growing.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach together handled the equivalent of 765,963 loaded inbound containers last month, the lightest traffic since June 2020. The import volume was down 9.6% from a year ago and off 10.1% from October.

Gene Seroka, the executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, on Wednesday attributed the decline to an influx of smaller ships that have been dispatched by retailers, manufacturers and logistics companies as they scramble to get around bottlenecks and satisfy consumer demand.

Mr. Seroka said smaller ships, which are less efficient for the ports to handle than larger vessels, made up about half the ships that called at the Los Angeles port in November. By comparison, smaller ships made up about one-third of vessel calls in October, he said. ... Port officials say that despite the November decline in imports, the neighboring ports remain on track to handle record import volumes for the year, surpassing 10 million boxes, in 20-foot equivalent units, a standard industry measure.

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Write to Paul Berger at [e-mail]

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Appeared in the December 16, 2021, print edition as 'Container Imports Fall at California Ports.'