June represents best month of 2012 for Port of Long Beach

June volumes at the Port of Long Beach (POLB) were up both annually and sequentially.

POLB imports, which are primarily comprised of consumer goods, came in at 280,526 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) in June for a 3.5 percent year-over-year increase. This was ahead of May’s 249,937 TEU.

Exports, which are primarily comprised of raw materials, were up 5.6 percent to 133,649 TEU and were ahead of May’s 129,083 TEU.

Empties were down 9.8 percent at 141,184 TEU but still reached its highest level of the year.

Total TEU for June at 555,359 were up 0.2 percent annually. Through the first six months of the year, volumes are down 5 percent annually 2,821,767TEU, with imports and exports down 5.0 percent and 2.1 percent at 1,410,167 TEU and 765,112, TEU, respectively. Empties are down 7.9 percent year-to-date at 646,488 TEU.

POLB officials said June was the busiest month year-to-date for calendar year 2012. They added that the decrease in volumes through the first half of the year is partly due to the elimination of several niche service strings that had called at the Port last year.

“As we enter the cargo peak season in the latter summer months, some business is returning to the Port, however,” they said last month. “Three new strings of vessels from Asia began calling on Long Beach in late May. Combined, the three services are expected to add as much as 500,000 TEUs through the remainder of the calendar year.”