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For the second-straight year, the Port of Los Angeles set an export volume record. In 2011, outbound container moves reached an all-time-high 2.1 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), up 14.5 percent compared with 2010. Total volume rose 1.4 percent to 7.9 million TEUs and imports climbed 2.3 percent to 4.1 million TEUs.

In December, the port handled 649,468 TEUs, up 6 percent compared with December 2010 volume. Exports increased 9.2 percent to 176,530 TEUs and imports rose 6.4 percent to 318,355 TEUs.

“2011 was … an example of how our port is prepared to handle a shift in global trade patterns,” said Port Executive Director Geraldine Knatz in a prepared statement. “We continue to facilitate export opportunities … while focusing our longer-term strategies on retaining and growing our position as the nation’s busiest container seaport.”

Over the next five years, the port plans to spend $1.5 billion on capital improvements to ensure “we are not resting on our laurels as the nation’s premier trade gateway,” said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.