Port of Los Angeles’ Sep exports slump 11% as trade war wreaks havoc

Oct 11, 2019: The Port of Los Angeles moved 779,903 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in September, a 2.7 percent decrease compared to 2018’s record-breaking September. After three quarters of 2018, total volumes have increased 4.7 percent compared to last year, which was the busiest year ever at the port.

September 2019 imports decreased 2.9 percent to 402,320 TEUs compared to the previous year. Exports decreased 11 percent to 130,769 TEUs, the 11th consecutive monthly decline of exports. Empty containers increased 2.9 percent to 246,814 TEUs. Combined, September volumes were 779,903 TEUs.

“The ill-advised US-China trade war continues to wreak havoc on American exporters and manufacturers,” said Port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka. “We’ve seen declining exports for 11 consecutive months while our fastest growing market segment is exporting empty containers back to Asia. It’s likely we’ll see softer volumes in the fourth quarter. We must have a negotiated settlement of the trade war as it is beginning to impact the more than 3 million jobs in the US that are tied to this port complex.”