The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach

Every year, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles carry out an exchange of merchandise worth more than 150 billion dollars; a figure that reveals the importance of this region for foreign trade.

Located in California, the Golden State and 5th. largest economy in the world, both ports are essential for receiving goods from Asia, as their geographical location offers them a good connection with that continent. 

The demand for medical equipment, household items, exercise equipment, office furniture and gadgets increased considerably during the confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making the relevance of these ports of entry for goods more evident.

When orders placed from home via the web increased, two things grew: e-commerce and shipments received in Long Beach and Los Angeles. At the end of 2020, the year of the declaration of a global pandemic, Long Beach registered its most active year and obtained 2 records, the most active month and the most active quarter in its 110-year history. The port processed 8,113,315 TEU containers from October 1 to December 31, an increase of 23% compared to the fourth quarter of 2019.

That same year, trade increased 22.6% in December compared to the same period in 2019. Port workers and terminal operators moved 815,885 units of cargo containers in December and broke the record for the best month set in October 2020. with 9,282 TEUs.

The Port of Los Angeles is the nation's primary gateway for international trade and the busiest seaport in the Western Hemisphere. 

In the port of Los Angeles, 2020 closed with the movement of 9.2 million TEUs, derived from the sudden increase in consumer spending, both in physical stores and supermarkets and online, induced by the pandemic at the end of the year, which which helped drive volumes to levels close to 2019, making 2020 the fourth highest volume year in the port's history.

The port's cargo volumes for the third and fourth quarters of 2020 were up 50% over the first half of the year, with the port handling 94% more traffic the week before Christmas compared to the same week in 2019. The port completed the year approximately 1.5% up compared to 2019 cargo volumes.

Thus, the port complex of Long Beach and Los Angeles, in California, reached a joint movement of 17.3 million 20-foot containers (TEU) during 2020, amid the economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic and the ongoing trade war with Chinese.

More information in storage in Mexico