Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach September volumes mixed but trending in right direction

Volumes for the month of September at the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) and the Port of Long Beach (POLB) were mixed but decent overall.

POLA and POLB are the two largest North American ports, and they collectively account for more than 40 percent of U.S. imports. As previously reported, West coast port volumes, especially in first half of the year, had been uneven, as ports had to work through the backlog caused by the nine-month West Coast port labor dispute between the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore & Warehouse Union, which reached a resolution in the form of a new contract agreement that was reached earlier this year.

Total POLA September volumes were down 5.8 percent at 730,306 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units) compared to September 2014, which was one of the strongest months in the port’s history. It was also down compared to August’s 786,677 TEU, which marked the port’s best August since the 790,726 TEU recorded in 2006.

POLA imports, which are primarily comprised of consumer goods, were down 9.4 percent to 383, 963 TEU, and exports dropped 17.5 percent to 124,286 TEU. Empties increased 6.3 percent to 383,551 TEU, with exports off 14 percent at 143,936 TEU. Empties were up 9.43 percent at 233,029 TEU.

“While we fell short of last September’s exceptional volume of 775,000 TEUs, I’m encouraged by the productivity our terminals and supply chain partners have demonstrated over the past six months,” said POLA Director Gene Seroka in a statement. “We are experiencing a consistent pattern of larger ships and more efficient cargo conveyance at volumes that are market leading.”

Even with the decline for September, when compared to such a strong September in 2014, POLA officials maintain that cargo owners are coming back to Los Angeles, with the port unmatched in speed to market, costs, infrastructure, labor (when it is fully operational like it has been since late February), and the handling of bigger ships.

“A lot of ports say they are big ship-ready. We are more than that: we are big ship-active,” he said. “We have had three 13,000 TEU ships at the dock simultaneously unloading here,” a port spokesman recently told LM.

Through the first nine months of 2015, total POLA volumes, at 6,119,623 TEU, are down 2.9 percent annually.

POLB September volume was up 4.1 percent annually at 655,624 TEU, and the port said that its third quarter volume came in at 2,049,520 TEU, which marked the first time volume for any quarter reached that level while signaling a return to pre-recession levels, too.  This follows August’s 703,652 TEU, which POLB officials said at the time serves as a “clear sign” that strong customer confidence in the port is intact.

POLB imports in September fell 1.9 percent annually to 332,909 TEU, with exports up 6.1 percent at 125,639 TEU. Empties headed up 14.6 percent to 197,706 TEU in September.

On a year-to-date basis through September, total POLB volumes are up 5.2 percent annually at 5,355,939 TEU, with imports up 3 percent at 2,714,613 TEU and exports down 6.2 percent at 1,146,413 TEU.

In the most recent edition of the Port Tracker report by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates, Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett wrote in the report that despite second quarter GDP coming in at 3.9 percent, that does not necessarily mean the economy is in a growth cycle, explaining that consumer demand is still cautious and shipping demand is lackluster at 5.9 percent for the full year.

Other factors cited by Hackett include the World Bank cutting forecasts for the Asia Pacific region for 2015 and 2016, due to risks posed from China’s economic slowdown and raising interest rates. And he also noted that the International Monetary Fund said in September that “slowing growth in China posed a threat to the global economy.

What’s more, he added that the inventory-to-sales ratio remains stubbornly high, which reflects how the West Coast port labor disruption from earlier this year has not yet been fully worked through and reduced inventory levels.  Also working against inventory reduction is lower personal consumption spending, with the rate slower compared to a year ago, he said.