Cargo Numbers – July 2014

The Georgia Port Authority (GPA) reach an all-time high in container trade in July moving 293889 TEUs a 19.2 percent increase over the previous year.

GPA Executive Director Curtis Foltz said shifting cargo from the U.S. West Coat to the East Coast is fueling the growing cargo volumes at Georgia’s deepwater ports.

GPA surpassed its previous TEU record set in May by 3453 units. The July TEU performance was up 47237 TEUs compared to July 2013. Since January the Port of Savannah has averaged 269688 TEUs per month.

The Port of Savannah handled a record 3.14 million TEUs in FY14 up by 6.3 percent or 186567 TEUs compared to the previous year. It was the first time for the port to move more than 3 million TEUs in a fiscal year.

The added volume contributed to a record year in total tonnage. In the 12 months ending June 30 GPA moved 29.4 million tons of freight up by 8 percent or 2.17 million tons. Total cargo container numbers rose 3.7 percent in July at the Port of Long Beach California compared to the same month last year.

A total of 583060 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) were moved through Long Beach in July. Of these 297615 TEUs were imports which rose slightly by 0.9 percent. Exports declined 6.2 percent to 124126 TEUs. Empty containers escalated 19.5 percent to 161319 TEUs.

The relatively flat import numbers in July came after a surge in June 2014 when retailers were stocking up for back-to-school shopping. Through the first seven months of 2014 container cargo traffic is up 2.7 percent at the Port of Long Beach showing the economy is continuing to grow.