U.S. Ports April Container Throughput Jump

Photo by the official website of the South Carolina Port Authority

The Port of Long Beach posted impressive throughput data in April, its busiest April on record, and its neighbor, Los Angeles, experienced a year-on-year decrease in April throughput, but it also experienced the second-busiest April in history. However, the top-performing U.S. ports in April also looked to the Gulf and East Coast.

The Port of Long Beach completed a container throughput of 820,700 TEUs in April, a year-on-year increase of 10%. Import volume increased by 9.2% year-on-year to 400,800 TEU; export volume fell by 1.8% year-on-year to 121,900 TEU; empty container throughput increased the most, up 16.9% year-on-year to 298,000 TEU. From January to April, Long Beach Port completed a container throughput of 3.2814 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 5.1%. Mario Cordero, executive director of the Port of Long Beach, said: “As China gradually lifts its lockdowns, we are preparing for a potential surge in summer volumes, with carriers moving imports and empty containers faster and terminals opening longer. ."

"Despite China's containment measures, trans-Pacific trade has remained stable," Port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka said Tuesday. The Port of Los Angeles shipped more than 3.5 million TEUs in the first four months of 2022, up 1 percent from a year earlier. In April, the Port of Los Angeles handled 887,400 TEUs, compared with 947,000 TEUs a year earlier. The total import volume in April was 456,700 TEUs, down 6.8% year-on-year; the total export volume was 99,800 TEUs, down 12.7% year-on-year; 330,800 TEUs were processed, down 3.4% year-on-year.

Ports outside of California are indeed moving at record-breaking speeds, with the Georgia Port Authority reporting that its April container throughput rose 6.2% year-over-year, its third-busiest month on record; South Carolina ports have recorded 14 straight Record throughput; April was also the second busiest month in the history of the Port of Virginia in Norfolk; the Port of Houston also reported its busiest April on record, handling 334,500 TEUs, an increase of 21% year-over-year .

Shipping expert John McCown said: “Import box volumes at the top 10 U.S. ports rose 7.1% in April, up from a 3.5% increase in March but down from a 13.7% increase in February. Total imports were 2,189,700 TEUs, the third-highest ever. April was also the 11th consecutive month that East Coast and Gulf of Mexico ports outpaced West Coast ports with 18.7% growth in April. growth, while West Coast ports saw a 3.4% decline.”

John McCown believes that this is because of the surge in cargo volumes brought about when the new crown epidemic first broke out. At that time, the main beneficiaries were West Coast ports. Now cargo owners are changing to other ports to avoid the well-known congestion of West Coast ports, while Gulf and East Coast ports are long-haul routes that are less expensive than intermodal services at West Coast ports.

John McCown pointed out that the strong performance of U.S. ports in April was because while Shanghai port throughput fell 25%, cargo was diverted to other ports, and China's total container throughput fell only 2.5%. The largest U.S. ports in April were Charleston, South Carolina, up 34%; Houston, up 26.5%; New York/New Jersey, up 22.4%; and the worst performer, Seattle/Tacoma , the decline was 20.1%, the Port of Oakland was down 15.8%, and the Port of Los Angeles was down 6.2%.