PORT OF LOS ANGELES REPORTS STRONGEST MONTHLY CARGO VOLUMES FOR 2009 CALENDAR YEAR TO DATE

SAN PEDRO, Calif. — Nov. 13, 2009 — Containers shipped through the Port of Los Angeles last month increased 10.9 percent compared to September, making October the strongest month yet for the Port this calendar year. Both containerized imports and exports reached their highest levels for 2009, with loaded outbound containers seeing an 11.8 percent rise over October 2008 volumes.  Still, loaded inbound containers were 8.3 percent below October 2008 levels.

Despite a reporting period that included a weeklong observance of a Chinese holiday, the total number of Twenty-Foot Equivalent (20-foot containers or “TEUs”) imported and exported through the Port of Los Angeles in October was 647,423.70.  Total container volumes were 10.9 percent above September 2009 levels; loaded imports were up 9.6 percent and loaded exports were up 7.4 percent over the previous month.

Year to date in 2009, total TEU volume is at 5,606,798.65, 15.4 percent lower than the same 10-month period in 2008.  Tracking by the Port’s fiscal year beginning July 2009, container volumes are 15.2 percent lower than 2008.

The Port of Los Angeles is America’s premier port and has a strong commitment to developing innovative strategic and sustainable operations that benefit the economy as well as the quality of life for the region and the nation it serves.  As the leading seaport in North America in terms of shipping container volume and cargo value, the Port generates 919,000 regional jobs and $39.1 billion in annual wages and tax revenues.  A proprietary department of the City of Los Angeles, the Port is self-supporting and does not receive taxpayer dollars.

The Port of Los Angeles – A cleaner port.  A brighter future.