Los Angeles port sets hemispheric record for container throughput in fiscal year

The Port of Los Angeles, the nation's busiest seaport, said today that it handled 9.2 million twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEU) in its fiscal year that ended June 30, a record container throughput for any Western Hemiäphere port.

The port also reported that June volumes increased 8.1 percent over the same period in 2016, marking the second-busiest June in its 110-year history.

Port officials said that Los Angeles is on track to end the 2017 calendar year exceeding last year's record volumes of 8.8 million TEUs. Through June, total 2017 cargo volumes are 4.48 million TEUs, an 8.4-percent increase compared to the same period in 2016.

Loaded imports in June increased 4.7 percent to 372,272 TEUs. Loaded exports rose 3.5 percent to 145,527 TEUs. Combined with an 18.6-percent rise in empty containers, overall June container volumes were 731,032 TEUs. The strongest June on record was in 2014, when the port's terminals handled 736,439 TEUs.

The port's results continue a string of stellar volume numbers being posted by ports on both coasts.