Southern California Ports See Worst Cargo Container Traffic Since the Beginning of the Pandemic

Warehouses in Southern California are so stocked with goods that there is no room to cram in any more merchandise. Consumers are buying less, and an early Chinese New Year this year shut down many factories for longer periods of time than normal.

All those factors tumbled together to create one of the slowest Februarys on record for cargo container traffic at the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach.

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“The decline was steep,” said Gene Seroka, the executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, who announced the port’s monthly results in a Friday online press conference.

He said loaded imports in February plummeted 41 percent over the same month last year, coming in at 249,407 20-foot containers. Loaded exports were off by 14 percent at 82,404 cargo containers, and landed empty cargo containers nosedived 54 percent.

“This is a global phenomenon. We may not be at the height of the pandemic, but there are more container vessels sitting idle around the world today than at any time since the pandemic began,” Seroka said. “Spot container rates have declined to nearly three-year lows. Why? The demand is just not there. And that leads to my second point. Warehouses remain largely full. Retailers must clear inventory levels before the next wave of imports arrive.”

It was a similar story at the neighboring Port of Long Beach. Cargo container imports in February shrank 34.7 percent to 254,970 20-foot containers over the same period last year, and exports decreased 5.9 percent to 110,919 20-foot containers.