The U.S. West Coast port of Los Angeles ha[ds_preview]s reached a throughput of 8.86 mill. TEU in 2016, marking it the busiest year ever.
The previous record was set in 2006, when the port handled 8,469,853 TEUs. Compared to 2015, Los Angeles saw a growth of 8.53 % in last year.
Together with Long Beach, L.A. is the most important container gateway on the pacific coast of the U.S. The Port finished the year strong, with December volumes of 796,536 TEUs, a 27 % increase compared to the same period last year.
It was the Port’s busiest December and fourth quarter in its 110-year history. Overall in 2016, cargo increased 8.5 % compared to 2015. Already in October, Los Angeles had announced a new record month with 814,500 TEU. December imports increased 22.6 % to 394,217 TEUs. Exports jumped 25.6 % to 164,900 TEUs. The handling of empty containers rose by 23.5 %.
»I salute our industry stakeholders and thank Mayor Garcetti and the policymakers and agencies at the state and federal level that have supported our various Supply Chain Optimization initiatives over the past year,« said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka.
»We’re proud to be the backbone that makes the San Pedro Bay port one of the world’s leading trade gateways,« said Bobby Olvera Jr., President of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 13.
