Data show that the current U.S. container import volume is still close to a historical high, but the import volume of the Los Angeles Port, the largest container port in the United States, has declined significantly.
According to data recently released by the Port of Los Angeles, in August, the port's container throughput was 805,672 TEU, a year-on-year decrease of 15.5%.
Among them, the volume of imported containers was 404,313TEU, the volume of export containers was 100,484TEU, and the volume of empty containers was 300,875TEU. Import volume fell sharply by 16.8% year-on-year and 16.7% month-on-month.
The Port of Los Angeles said it was the lowest volume of imported containers at the Port of Los Angeles since December 2021.
Some analysts believe that there are two main reasons for the decline in the volume of imported containers at the Port of Los Angeles.
First, in the traditional peak season of transportation, in order to avoid potential port congestion, cargo owners transferred imported goods to the east US port in advance.
"In light of this, some shippers are diverting cargo to eastern U.S. ports and Gulf Coast ports and trying to reduce potential risks from labor negotiations at the U.S.-West terminals," said Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles.
He further said that the United States is facing a high inflation crisis, consumers will naturally be a little anxious, and so will retailers, some orders have been cancelled.
In sharp contrast to the Port of Los Angeles, the port of Savannah, the largest U.S. port, saw a 20% year-on-year increase in container imports in August this year, and a 34% increase compared to August 2019.
Another reason for the drop in imports at the Port of Los Angeles was local competition from the port of Long Beach next door, from which some cargoes were diverted. Data show that the port of Long Beach imported 384,530TEU in August this year, an increase of 2.2% from July.
In this regard, Gene Seroka explained that the phenomenon is related to the internal adjustment of the Port of Los Angeles, involving "union leadership discussions on safety issues around the automated terminal." However, he did not disclose further details.
The adjustment resulted in the transfer of about 40,000 TEU of cargo from the Port of Los Angeles to the Port of Long Beach in August, data show.
Gene Seroka revealed that the volume of cargo transferred to the Port of Long Beach in September may reach 60,000 to 80,000 TEU. However, he stressed that the change is only temporary and "the situation will recover soon".
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