The Port of Long Beach announced Thursday that last month was its best July on record, with nearly 800,000 20-foot equivalent units moved.
The port’s cargo volume in July was 4.2% higher than the same month the previous year, when 753,081 units were moved, which was at the time the best July on record. The Port of Long Beach has broken records for 12 of the last 13 months, and so far in 2021, the port has processed 5.538 million units, a 32.3% increase over the same period in 2020.
“Our dockworkers and industry partners have risked their health to keep the gears of our economy turning during this pandemic,” said Long Beach Harbor Commission President Steven Neal. “We thank them, and acknowledge their service as we continue a remarkable run of records at the Port of Long Beach.”
July 2021’s imports increased 1.6% to 382,940 units, while exports decreased by 20.7% to 109,951 units. The port moved 291,955 empty containers through the port, a 22.8% increase from the previous July.
“Ships arrived last month to move these empty containers out of the harbor and clear valuable terminal space as we handle historic amounts of trade,” said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero. “These boxes are a valuable commodity in the overstressed global supply chain. Our loaded exports are likely to rebound this month.”
Port officials expect increasing COVID-19 cases in Vietnam will disrupt supplies in the next few months, as factories are forced to shut down to contain virus outbreaks. The Port of Yantian in China had to delay some vessels due to an outbreak.
