Cargo volumes at the Port of Los Angeles increased nearly 16 percent in October compared to the same period last year, marking the busiest month ever at a Western Hemisphere container port, according to data collected by the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA).
Total volumes registered at 814,574 Twenty-Foot Equivalents (TEUs), eclipsing the previous record of 800,063 TEUs at the Port of Los Angeles in October 2006.
“We applaud our container terminals, labor and all of the stakeholders in our supply chain that drove this record-breaking volume with speed, efficiency and reliability,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka. “It's encouraging to see that when cargo surges, we have the infrastructure, equipment and human capital to keep the boxes moving.”
October imports increased 16.4 percent to 417,311 TEUs. Exports jumped 23.3 percent to 166,406 TEUs. Along with an 18.3 percent surge in empty containers, overall October container volumes were 814,574 TEUs.
With total cargo volumes through the first 10 months of 2016 at 7,182,682 TEUs, it represents an increase of 5.25 percent compared to the same period in 2015.