The Port of Los Angeles handled about 770,337 containers in April, representing a 12% increase over the same time last year, officials announced Monday.
April also represented the ninth consecutive month of year-over-year growth. So far, four months into 2024, the waterfront workers have processed 3.1 million twenty-foot equivalent units across L.A.'s marine terminals -- nearly 25% more than 2023. That's also 5% higher than the port's running five- year average dating back to 2019, including two years of record volumes during the pandemic.
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"All our vital operational statistics at the Port of Los Angeles are at or better than pre-COVID levels," Gene Seroka, executive director of the port of L.A., said during a Monday morning online briefing. "I've been urging shippers to take advantage of our fluid terminals and excess capacity. We're ready to upscale on demand as we move into the second half of 2024."
April 2024 loaded imports landed at 416,929 TEUs, up 21% compared to the previous year. Loaded exports came in at 133,046 TEUs, an increase of 51% compared to last year. April marked the 11th consecutive months of year-over- year export gains.
The port processed 220,262 empty containers, a 14% decrease compared to 2023.
Seroka also mentioned how the port will leverage some $58 million in federal funding -- money from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. The funding is expected to expand maintenance dredging, seismic safety upgrades and wharf repairs.
Daniel Hackett of Hackett Associates, which produces a rolling six- month forecast of imports of 16 major container ports across North America, joined Seroka for the briefing. Hackett shared insights into the rise of West Coast cargo volumes over the past year and spoke on the outlook for a traditional "peak season" shipping season later this year.
"By last year, most of the inventory issues have been resolved, and so in the end of 2023 it was slightly ahead of 2019, despite the fact that we had a 13% drop compared to 2022 for the global port tracker," Hackett said. "All that said, we're projecting strong growth this year. Import growth approaching about the 10% mark for the U.S. and Canadian ports that we cover."
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