February cargo volumes at the Port of Los Angeles fell by 10.2 per cent compared to the same period last year due to terminal congestion and supply chain challenges during labour negotiations.
Imports were down 10.7 per cent, from 284,812 TEUs in February 2014 to 254,225 TEUs in February this year. Exports declined10.3 per cent, from 146,925 TEUs last year to 131,806 TEUs in February 2015. Combined, total loaded imports and exports fell 10.6 per cent, from 431,738 TEUs in February 2014to 386,031 TEUs in February 2015.
The port authority’s executive director Gene Seroka said cargo flow had improved since a tentative agreement was reached on 20 February between the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU).
“ILWU labour is back strong at our terminals. The new interoperable chassis fleet is up and running,” he said. “We’ve seen promising results in conjunction with initiatives like the cargo ‘peel-off’ programme and testing activity around Cargomatic, a company working to create a more efficient method of dispatching trucks to terminals.”
Seroka added that the Federal Maritime Commission’s approval of a working agreement was enabling the San Pedro Bay ports to convene stakeholders in the coming weeks to discuss additional solutions that would help ease the backlog.
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