Even with congestion issues, POLA and POLB volumes see gains in October

Despite the ongoing issues related to port congestion, October volumes at the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) and the Port of Long Beach (POLB) were mostly positive.

Total October POLB volumes were up 1.1 percent year-over-year at 583,009 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units), which now stands as its highest volume October going back to 2010. POLB said that port congestion-related issued actually pushed some shipments into November, adding that import gains were largely responsible for the month’s gains.

The port’s Peak Season typically runs from August through October, with most volume boosts driven by imports coming in for the holiday season.

Imports were up 4.1 percent at 310,482 TEU, while exports dropped 14.9 percent to 120,445 TEU. Empty containers headed up 11.2 percent to 152,082 TEU.

On a year-to-date basis through October, POLB volumes are up 1.7 percent at 5,672,054 TEU. Imports are up 2.8 percent at 2,947,012 TEU, and exports are down 4.4 percent at 1,342,104 TEU. Empties are up 1.7 percent at 1,382,104 TEU,

Total POLA volumes in October were up 4.6 percent compared to October 2013 at 715,682 TEU, which was down from September’s 775,133. 

POLA imports, which are primarily comprised of consumer goods, were up 7.2 percent at 370,938 TEU, while exports fell 6.7 percent to 158,181 TEU. Port officials said the drop in exports in October and for all of 2014 are largely due to weak global demand and a stronger U.S. dollar, which makes U.S. goods more expensive.

Year-to-date, total POLA volumes are up 7.5 percent at 7,018,152 TEU, which the port said reflects a combination of Peak Season ending and larger vessels calling at the port.

Even with Peak Season largely complete, the ongoing port congestion issues do not appear to be abating with it for various reasons, including the still unresolved labor contract between the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), increased demand, a lack of available chassis, and recent news that Teamsters port truck drivers at POLA and POLB are striking against drayage operator Pac 9 and TTSI over what the Teamsters say is the continued misclassification of drivers as “independent contractors.”

POLA Executive Director Gene Seroka said that while increasing cargo volume is the port’s objective, the current congestion circumstances in recent months have created delays for cargo owners that must and will be resolved.

“We continue working with our customers and logistics partners to do everything possible to relieve the current situation and design solutions that will better enable the supply chain in the future,” he said.

POLA officials also said that a team led by Seroka have facilitated recent meetings that resulted in a new chassis distribution model to be implemented on February 1.  And the port said that POLA officials are working with stakeholders on short and long-term solutions to improve operational efficiencies and cargo velocity throughout the logistics chain, noting that information technology solutions will be a central theme of the required design improvements.