July port volume: Up in Long Beach, down in Los Angeles

The Port of Long Beach, Calif., in July handled 562,166 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), up 7.6 percent compared with July 2012 volume.

Import container volume jumped 12.9 percent to 294,926 TEUs, export container volume rose 6.2 percent to 132,290 TEUs and the number of empty containers dipped 1.3 percent to 134,950 TEUs because, as imports exceed exports, empties are sent overseas to be refilled with goods, port officials said in a July traffic summary.

Through 2013's first seven months, total volume was up 13.2 percent year over year to 3,784,624 TEUs, with imports up 15.7 percent at 1,933,183 TEUs and exports up 9.5 percent at 974,580 TEUs.

"These increases are in part due to the larger ships calling at the port more frequently and the addition of service lines starting in the last part of 2012," port officials said.

Meanwhile, the Port of Los Angeles in July handled 715,640 TEUs, down 1.5 percent compared with July 2012 volume. Imports slipped 0.3 percent to 370,746 TEUs, exports fell 4.8 percent to 157,585 TEUs, total loaded volume declined 1.7 percent to 528,331 TEUs and empties decreased 0.9 percent to 187,309 TEUs.

Through seven months, the port's total volume declined 6.5 percent year over year to 4,426,600 TEUs.