PORT OF LOS ANGELES MARKS SECOND BEST APRIL WITH CARGO REACHING 887,357 TEUs
SAN PEDRO, Calif. – May 17, 2022 – The Port of Los Angeles handled 887,357 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in April 2022, the second-best April in its 115-year history. Four months in to 2022, the Port has processed more than 3.5 million TEUs, 1% ahead of last year’s record pace.
“We’ve had a remarkably strong start to the year and cargo continues to flow into Los Angeles despite some of the COVID lockdowns in China,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka. “While there are impacts being seen from sub-assembly to manufacturing through delivery, transpacific trade has held steady.
“Looking forward,” added Seroka, “while we don’t expect any abrupt changes, the situation in China may lead to a lull in volume with a fairly quick bounceback once the lockdowns end.”
Overall April volumes were second only to 2021, when the Port of Los Angeles moved a remarkable 946,966 TEUs.
April 2022 loaded imports reached 456,670 TEUs compared to the previous year, a decrease of 6.8% but 17% higher than the five-year April average of 390,000 TEUs.
Loaded exports came in at 99,878 TEUs, a 12.7% decrease compared to the same period last year. Exports have declined 38 of the last 42 months in Los Angeles. Empty containers reached 330,810 TEUs, down 3.4% compared to last year.
Seroka announced preliminary April cargo volume at a media briefing last week, when he was joined by Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) CEO Jim McKenna.
Current and historical cargo data, including fiscal year-end totals, are available here.
The busiest seaport in the Western Hemisphere, the Port of Los Angeles is North America’s leading trade gateway and has ranked as the number one container port in the United States for 22 consecutive years. In 2021, the Port facilitated $294 billion in trade and handled a total of 10.7 million container units, the busiest calendar year in the Port’s 115-year history. San Pedro Bay port complex operations and commerce facilitate one in nine jobs across the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura.
