L.A., Long Beach ports see moderate growth in June
The nation’s busiest seaport complex closed in on the peak cargo shipping season with a moderately strong showing last month.
June is typically a busy month for cargo traffic at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which rank first and second, respectively, in the U.S. in the movement of cargo containers. Port officials said that they are hedging their bets about what the numbers signaled given recent negative economic news.
“We’re hesitant to read too much into this given the state of the economy,” said Art Wong, a spokesman for the Port of Long Beach.
Los Angeles port spokesman Phillip Sanfield said officials are “cautiously optimistic we’ll be able to maintain moderate growth over the next six months.”
In June, the Port of Los Angeles saw a 8.75% increase in cargo, to 696,848 containers, compared with the same month last year. Imports through the port in June rose 6% while exports rose 6.9%. The rest of the overall increase came from a surge in empty containers headed to Asia.
The Port of Long Beach handled 554,269 containers, a 0.2% increase from June 2011; imports rose 3% and exports increased 5%.
Cargo movement is one of the few remaining sources of middle-income, blue-collar employment in Southern California, which is home to more than half of the state’s 1.1 million international trade jobs. Those numbers might get a boost because of sluggish labor contract talks at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports.
U.S. retailers who rely on those ports have expressed concern because shippers and the International Longshoremen’s Assn. haven’t reached agreement on a new labor contract. The existing one expires Sept. 30, during the holiday shipping season.
“Retailers have no choice but to continue planning for a shutdown,” the Retail Industry Leaders Assn. said. “Indeed, some of our members advise that they are beginning to redirect their supply chains” to “ensure that customer needs can continue to be met.”
