Containerized imports at the Port of Los Angeles were flat in September, indicating that peak shipping season this year will be a bust.
Loaded import containers at the nation’s largest port totaled 372,655 TEUs, down 0.16 percent from September 2010. The numbers are disappointing because August, rather than September, was the peak month last year in the trans-Pacific trades.
Industry analysts had projected a strong September this year, especially because the numbers would be compared to last September when the trade began its slow descent into the slack season.
Further disappointing that September’s imports this year were less than the month before. Los Angeles in August handled 376,189 TEUs.
Los Angeles experienced another strong month in year-over-year exports. Loaded export containers totaled 176,954 TEUs, up 26.6 percent from September 2010. However, exports were down 4 percent from the month before. Exports in August 2011 were 184,231 TEUs.
Shipping lines in the trans-Pacific have been holding out for a strong peak season, but now that the peak is drawing to a close, carriers can be expected to begin pulling vessel strings from the trade. It appears that the slack winter season in the trans-Pacific arrived early this year.
The Journal of Commerce Online