By MADISON HIRNEISEN
THE CENTER SQUARE STAFF REPORTER
(The Center Square) — Despite months of backlogs in the global supply chain, the Port of Los Angeles is on track to shatter records for the amount of cargo throughput in 2021, officials announced.
With less than two weeks remaining until the new year, the port is estimating a final volume of 10.7 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units, which would beat the port’s previous record by about 13%.
“As we approach a new cargo milestone amid this pandemic, I’m so proud of the resilience of this Port, our labor force and all of our partners,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said in a statement. “While there is much more that we need to improve upon, we’re delivering record amounts of cargo, and goods are making their way into the hands of consumers and manufacturers.”
Officials still are working to address a backlog of ships waiting to dock at the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, but they said crews have made steady improvement in recent weeks.
Port officials announced Monday they again would delay implementing a “Container Dwell Fee,” which would impose fees on ocean carriers whose containers dwelled too long at the docks. Port officials said Monday they have seen a 46% decline in aging cargo since the fee was announced Oct. 25.
The port has processed 18.7% more TEUs between January and November than in the same time period in 2020, according to port officials.
The port also is on track for an all-time record in imports at 5.5 million TEUs, beating the previous record set in 2018 by about 13%, according to port officials.
Looking toward the new year, Mr. Seroka said the port will continue to “focus on efficiency improvements, job creation and economic development.”
Madison Hirneisen covers California for The Center Square.
