The number of shipments arriving through the nation’s busiest container port complex in Los Angeles has increased substantially over the first half of the year, reflecting a rebound in business and a change in consumer habits.
Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka, in an appearance Monday on CNBC, said cargo volume increased 50 percent during the second half of 2020 compared to what reached the docks during the first six months of the year. year, and it is common for loaded ships to anchor at sea awaiting the opening of a wharf.
“It’s all a change for the American consumer,” Seroka told Power Lunch. “We don’t buy services, we buy goods.”
The increase in shipments has put pressure on the supply chain at the seaport, managed by the Los Angeles Port Department. It’s a stark contrast to spring, when the volume dropped when the coronavirus pandemic brought down the world economies in recession.
With retailers seeing an increase in online orders and the e-commerce business in the home world, it has led to long delays in unloading ships at ports across the country and a shortage of desired warehouse space.
Seroka said the port expected an increase in demand. The Southern California port has been the busiest container port in North America in the last two decades and has received 17% of all U.S. cargo.
In November, the Port of Los Angeles recorded 890,000 units equivalent to 20 feet of shipments arriving through its facilities, 22% more than the same month last year, driven in part by holiday orders. Imports from Asia reach record levels, the port authority said. Meanwhile, exports to the port have declined in 23 of the last 25 months, which is partly to blame for trade policy with China.
“In addition to trade policy, it is the strength of the US dollar that makes our products a little more than they would otherwise be for competing countries in the same product categories,” Seroka said. . “And right now, the most amazing statistic, is that we’re re-shipping twice as many empty boxes as American exports to our docks.”
The monthly cargo volume has averaged about 930,000 units equivalent to 20 feet since August, which Seroka describes as “unusual” at the end of the year. The activity is expected to continue for several months.
Seroka said the port has focused on digitizing operations to optimize delivery times and logistics.
“The port is tense,” he said.