The Port of Los Angeles said it processed 961,833 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) of cargo in August, the first monthly cargo increase in a year.

The largest container port in the United States said the 12% gain in cargo was driven by imports, which eclipsed 500,000 TEUs for the first time.

The overall monthly volumes were the strongest ever at the Port of Los Angeles. Year to date, cargo has decreased 11.7% compared to 2019. 

“In May we saw our lowest container volumes in more than a decade,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka.

“Since then, there has been a significant replenishment of warehouse inventories. Coupled with retailers planning for consumer holiday spending, it has created a surge of imports.

Seroka noted that with its “recently released 'Signal' data powered by the Port Optimizer™,” the Port is working with supply chain partners to improve cargo fluidity and advanced visibility to track, plan and prepare for cargo.

Signal provides a three-week look at cargo coming into Los Angeles and is updated daily.

Port of Los Angeles said August loaded imports increased 18% to 516,286 TEUs compared to the previous year. Loaded exports decreased 10.2% to 131,429 TEUs. Empty containers increased 13.3% to 314,118 TEUs.

There was one cancelled sailing in August, with none scheduled for September.

The Port had 89 vessel calls in August, including eight megaships (container ships capable of handling more than 13,000 TEUs).

The 17,000-TEU-capacity APL Merlion handled nearly 29,600 TEUs during its visit in August, holding the second-highest all-time record for TEUs handled in a single ship visit.