The Port of Los Angeles reported its busiest June ever citing robust consumer spending which is driving, among others, an increase in e-commerce volumes for the month. 

Port officials also noted that it expects consumer spending in the US to remain strong throughout the year — supportive of further expansions in port volumes.

In a statement, America's busiest container port said it processed 876,430 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in June, a 27% increase compared to last year.

It noted that it was the port’s busiest June ever and closed the fiscal year at 10,879,383 TEUs, a new milestone for any Western Hemisphere port.

Over the past 12 months, the Port of Los Angeles also said it eclipsed eight monthly records, had its two highest-performing quarters and top four individual months in the Port’s 114-year history.

Robust volumes through 2021

“Key economic indicators all suggest that U.S. consumer spending will remain strong through the remainder of 2021,” said Port of Los Angeles

Executive Director Gene Seroka. “Even as Americans return to airline travel, vacations, and in-person events, retail sales and e-commerce remain robust.

Seroka added that fall fashion, back-to-school items, and Halloween goods are also arriving on the port's docks already, and some retailers are also shipping year-end holiday products early.

“All signs point to a robust second half of the year,” the port chief added.

Port of LA also saw its June loaded imports reached 467,763 TEUs compared to the previous year, an increase of 27%. Loaded exports decreased 12% to 96,067 TEUs compared to the same period last year.

The gateway noted that this was the lowest amount of exports at the Port of Los Angeles since 2005.

Empty containers up 47%

Meanwhile, at the Port of LA, empty containers climbed to 312,600 TEUs, a jump of 47% compared to last year due to the heavy demand in Asia.

The total June 2021 volume of 876,430 TEUs surpassed the previous June 2019 record of 764,777 TEUs by 15%. The fiscal year close of 10.9 million TEUs is 12% higher than the previous 12-month record when the Port handled 9.7 million TEUs in FY 2018-19, it added.

Six months into the 2021 calendar year, Port of LA also noted that its overall cargo volume is at 5.4 million TEUs, an increase of 44% compared to 2020.