The Port of Los Angeles set a record last month, for the busiest ever month recorded by a container port in the Western Hemisphere; in case you were wandering, the Port of Los Angeles held the previous record.
The volume for the month was 814,574 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), surpassing the previous record of 800,063 TEUs set at the Port of Los Angeles in October 2006. A TEU is equal to the dimensions of a standard 20-foot shipping container, 20 feet long and 8 feet tall. The Port of Los Angeles is the 19th busiest in the world, in terms of annual container traffic.
In vast contrast to the general consensus being seen around the shipping container industry, the Port of Los Angeles has not just had an extraordinary October but a very good year as a whole. Total cargo volumes through the first 10 months of 2016 percent compared to the same period in 2015.
"We applaud our container terminals, labour and all of the stakeholders in our supply chain that drove this record-breaking volume with speed, efficiency and reliability," said Gene Seroka, Port of Los Angeles executive director. "It's encouraging to see that when cargo surges, we have the infrastructure, equipment and human capital to keep the boxes moving."
Congratulations LA, it’s a pleasant surprise to see positive shipping container news.