September port volume soared in Long Beach, slipped in Los Angeles

The Port of Long Beach's cargo volume in September climbed 14.7 percent year over year to 587,114 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), fueled by double-digit import and export gains.

Import container volume shot up 16.2 percent to 307,981 TEUs and export container volume jumped 17.2 percent to 134,676 TEUs, while the volume of empties rose 9.4 percent to 144,457 TEUs.

September was the second busiest month of 2013 for the Southern California port, trailing only August, port officials said in a cargo volume summary. Traditionally, the August-through-October period is the peak season for ocean-borne imports as retailers prepare for a rise in purchases due to holiday shopping, they said.

In the third quarter, imports soared 16.1 percent, while through 2013's first nine months, total container volume rose 13.7 percent and imports climbed 16.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the Port of Los Angeles logged 710,892 TEUs in September, down 4.6 percent compared with September 2012. Imports dipped 3.8 percent to 370.786 TEUs, exports fell 12.8 percent to 150,380 TEUs, total loaded units declined 6.6 percent to 521,166 TEUs and total empties inched up 1.3 percent to 189,727 TEUs.

Through the year's first nine months, the port's total volume decreased 5.5 percent to 5.85 million TEUs compared with the same 2012 period.