Key California ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach and Oakland showed divergent trends as weak market fundamentals have led to volatile cargo throughput at many US ports.
This comes as after several months of US West Coast labor disruptions and the recent slashing of vessel transits through the Panama Canal, compounded by a weakening demand-side picture.
The Port of Los Angeles reported Aug. 23 it handled 684,291 twenty-foot equivalent containers in July, down 27% on the year. Of this, 364,208 TEU were loaded imports, down 25% against the same month in 2023.
The only positive figure came from loaded exports, which rose 6% to 110,372 TEU, a significant movement as US West Coast exports were hampered during the pandemic as high import volumes led to an unbalanced import-export flow.
“Global trade has eased as warehouse inventories of retailers and manufacturers remain elevated,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said in a notice Aug. 23. “American consumers are continuing to spend and are likely to find more discounted items this year as we move into fall fashion and year-end holiday season.”
Decline for Long Beach, increase for Oakland
On Aug. 15, the neighboring Port of Long Beach notched its third consecutive month of volume declines. Total throughput volumes landed at 578,279 TEUs in July, slipping 3.1% from June and 26.4% from July 2022, the port’s busiest July ever.
Conversely, the Port of Oakland moved 181,555 TEU during July, registering an uptick of 13% against July 2022, and the highest throughput since November 2022.
Similar to the Port of Los Angeles, Oakland had a 23.1% jump in loaded export figures, as US exporters found more favorable rate and vessel space allocations amid the falling market.
Peak season
Despite recent import slowdowns, some market participants are expecting moderate upticks in August and September as the market enters what is slated to be a muted peak import season.
For the week ending Sept. 9, the Port of Los Angeles is expecting 114,195 TEU to be unloaded on its docks, up over 105% on the year.
Still, expectations for a massive cargo rebound are largely absent from the marketplace, which has been reflected in sliding freight rates during recent weeks. Platts Container Rate 13 — North Asia-to-West Coast North America — came to $1,900/FEU Aug. 23, down 11.6% on the week.
“Market is slipping,” a freight forwarder said. “We’re going to be right back to where we were in June very soon.”
Source: Hellenic Shipping News
