The Port reported that a lot of shippers imported goods well in advance of peak season.
The Port of Los Angeles saw its lowest cargo volumes since 2009 in October after declining by 25% from the same month in 2021.
According to port director Gene Seroka, the decline was caused by an earlier-than-normal peak season as many shippers imported their holiday and fall product. He claimed that this was done in order to possibly prevent any labor disruptions brought on by protracted negotiations.
“With cargo owners bringing goods in early this year, our peak season was in June and July instead of September and October,” he said.
Furthermore, in order to avoid any labor disputes, shippers diverted their cargo to ports along the East and Gulf Coasts, which hurt the economy.
In comparison to its five-year average, the port received 678,429 twenty-foot container units in October.
For the remainder of the year, Seroka forecasts that imports will remain weak. “November numbers will be soft and so will December’s here in Los Angeles,” he said.
The labor negotiations, which appear to be the primary factor behind the decline, have dragged on longer than the timeframe predicted by LA Mayor Eric Garcetti for Labor Day. Seroka claimed there is still skepticism despite both parties’ assurances that there won’t be any strikes or lockouts.
“Even though both sides have put out two jointly signed media releases stating they will not strike nor lock out, there’s still skepticism,” Seroka said. “This needs to be stabilized in order to return the market to a state where there is confidence in the flow of cargo and on-time delivery to the market.”
Long Beach, which was also impacted by the talks, experienced a significant 16% decline for the month. The East Coast’s ports, on the other hand, are doing well, with the ports of Savannah and Charleston reporting October volumes that were nearly record-high.
Source: https://www.furnituretoday.com/
