The 2.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units moved by the Port of Long Beach in the first four months of 2018 is more than 17 percent above last year’s record pace.
In April, Long Beach dockworkers handled 618,438 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), a 10.8 percent increase above the same month last year.
Import containers grew 8.4 percent to 312,376 TEUs compared to last April. The number of exports moved through Long Beach jumped 22 percent to 141,799 TEUs, and empty containers sent overseas to be filled with goods totaled 164,264 TEUs, up 7 percent.
“Both imports and exports are beating expectations so far this year,” said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero. “For us, part of that is the shift of services we saw a year ago, but at least some of our strong growth appears to be a result of trade tensions as anxious shippers rush to get their cargo to overseas markets.”
“The global economy has benefited from a slow yet robust economic expansion,” Harbor Commission President Lou Anne Bynum added. “As long as it continues we expect to play a big role since we’re a natural trade conduit between United States and the China, the world’s two largest economies.”