Long Beach Volumes Dip on Hanjin Fallout

October container volumes were down 6.2 percent at the Port of Long Beach compared to the same month last year, as the fallout from the Hanjin bankruptcy continues to settle.

According to the port, a total of 581,808 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) moved through docks last month. Export TEUs were 1.2 percent down, relatively flat compared to last October, to 126,770 TEUs. Total imports were 296,711 TEUs, 3.7 percent off. Empty containers experienced the largest drop of 13.8 percent to 158,327 boxes.

A major factor affecting the port’s volume is the Hanjin bankruptcy. In 2015, Hanjin Shipping containers accounted for approximately 12.3 percent of the port’s total containerized volume. Port leaders recently acted to clear a backlog of empty containers related to the Hanjin bankruptcy, freeing a significant number of chassis to speed the efficient flow of cargo through the Southern California supply chain.

Port officials noted the harbor’s last October was the best in the previous eight years, and came during a string of six consecutive months of cargo growth to end 2015.

For the calendar year through October, Port TEUs trail the 2015 total by 4.8 percent.