SIMIC

Exports totalled 1,475,888 TEU, up 0.2 per cent, while empties increased 9.9 per cent to 2,639,088 TEU. The port exceeded the previous annual record set in 2018 by 22,292 TEU.

Imports grew 25.6 per cent last month to 406,072 TEU compared to December 2019 and exports increased 5.6 per cent to 132,374 TEU. Empty containers headed back overseas jumped 26.3 per cent to 263,852 TEU.

"I am looking forward to 2021 as a time of economic recovery and a renewed focus on our industry partners, infrastructure projects and community stakeholders," said the port's executive director Mario Cordero.

Said Long Beach Harbour Commission president Frank Colonna: "This record demonstrates the effort of our dockworkers and the port's determination to overcome the challenges presented by Covid-19 and the trade war with China.

The Covid crisis drove down consumer demand for goods during the first half of 2020, leading to a 6.9 per cent decline in cargo compared to the same period a year earlier. The San Pedro Bay ports complex, Long Beach and LA combined, had 104 cancelled sailings in the first half of 2020, 37 of which were destined for Long Beach. That was up from 41 cancelled sailings for both ports in the first half of 2019.

The port processed 2,406,010 TEU from October 1 to December 31, a 23 per cent increase from the fourth quarter of 2019. It also topped the previous record set during the third quarter of 2020 by 131,740 TEU.

Trade was up 22.6 per cent in December compared to the same period in 2019. Dockers and terminal operators moved 815,885 cargo container units in December and broke the "best month" record set in October 2020 by 9,282 TEU.