Imports at the Port of Los Angeles plummeted 28 percent in October as shippers continued to divert to other ports, prompting officials to scramble in their efforts to recoup lost business.
In all, the Port of Los Angeles processed one-quarter fewer imports, exports, and empty containers last month, compared to the year before. This was the lowest October volume since 2009, according to the port’s Executive Director Gene Seroka.
The Port of Long Beach next door also reported a drop in imports—losing nearly 24 percent last month.
“Container movement eased across the board,” Seroka said during a Nov. 15 press conference.
Los Angeles officials are struggling to meet with suppliers across the United States and in Asia to get cargo shipments to return to the port complex, Seroka said.
“We’ve got to get that cargo back,” Seroka said. “We’ve been out there knocking on doors in the past several weeks.”
Officials have traveled to Asia, Europe, and throughout the United States on a “whistlestop tour,” he said.
This year, the Los Angeles port processed just over 678,400 imported, exported, and empty containers. This was also 22 percent below the port’s five-year average volume for the month, according to Seroka.
The port has moved 8.5 million containers in 2022, which is a 6 percent decline from 2021, Seroka reported.
U.S. container imports from China in October declined by 5.5 percent compared to September and were nearly 23 percent lower than in August.
Container volume from China declined by 48 percent in Los Angeles compared to October 2021, and by nearly 32 percent in Los Beach—representing the biggest decrease at ports nationwide, Descartes reported.
The steep drop in overall volume at the Los Angeles port was mostly “due to protracted labor negotiations,” Seroka said. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti agreed, adding at the press conference that everyone had thought labor negotiations would be settled by Labor Day.
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