Port of Long Beach reports historical growth with 43% in 2020
Continuing its string of record-breaking months, the Port of Long Beach on Wednesday, March 10, reported its busiest February ever and the largest year-over-year increase for a single month.
It was especially noteworthy as February tends to see cargo downturns due to the Lunar New Year celebrations, during which many of the factories in east Asia close for two weeks.
But China this year, according to a port news release, has largely worked through the 2021 holiday in order to fill back orders and meet rising consumer online order demands amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Long Beach ports sees largest volume increase in 110 years of history
The Port of Los Angeles will release February numbers on March 16.
In February, Port of Long Beach dockworkers and terminal operators moved 771,735 twenty-foot equivalent units, the standard measurement used for cargo volumes, representing a 43.3% increase from the same month last year, when China, the U.S.’s largest trading partner, was getting hit hard by the coronavirus — forcing factories to shut down.
It was the largest year-over-year increase for a single month in the port’s 110-year history.
Surge in cargo remains problematic for supply chain logistics
It also was the first time the port handled more than 700,000 TEUs in the month of February, exceeding the previous record, set in 2018, by 109,945 TEUs.
Mario Cordero, executive director for the Port of Long Beach, said the supply chain workforce was “giving its all” to keep cargo moving despite positive coronavirus cases causing absences.
“New records are being set,” he said, “demonstrating how busy they have been.”
But supply chain logistics have suffered with the surge in cargo, prompting the port to collaborate with industry partners.
