West Coast Ports report container traffic decline

March 16, 2009 by SwizStick  
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So far, while 2008 was a terrible year for container traffic at West Coast ports, 2009 is looking even worse. Here are the figures (in TEUs and their % decline from 2008 for the same time period) from the major West Coast container ports for January 2009:

Los Angeles: 587,004 or -10%

Port of Long Beach: 399,295 or -23.4%

Port of Oakland: 157,942 or -15.7%

Port of Seattle: 126,722 or -7.3%

Port of Tacoma: 109,265 or -15.9%

Some of the ports have reported February numbers as well that are even worse (Los Angeles is down a whopping -32.56% in February 2009 vs. February 2008). All of these figures are depressing and certainly a major cause for concern for anyone involved in global trade, particularly the Trans-Pacific. One of the recurring themes at the recent TPM (Trans-Pacific Maritime) Conference was the development of a competitive mindset at the ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach. Following my colleague’s post about how SoCal port fees are driving business away from the port, combined with the overall weak economy, it seems more than prudent that the ports focus on keeping whatever business they can. However, I am of the opinion that long term damage, in regards to trade industry’s overall perception of the SoCal port complex in general, has already been done and companies have been making decisions over the past few years with long term implications that will gradually pull cargo away from SoCal. Certainly when the economy eventually turns around, as it must, the SoCal port complex will see a nice boost in their numbers, but I am of the opinion that demand for All-Water to the East Coast, as well as alternate intermodal gateways such as Prince Rupert, will only grow, not diminsh, unless SoCal can convince all the players in the industry, including local communities, that SoCal is a competitive advantage.

We’ve been blogging about the dangers of the ports of LA/Long Beach in terms of competitiveness for some time now. For more on this subject, here’s plenty more for you:

U.S. cargo down for 18th month in a row

Report from 2009 Trans-Pacific Maritime Conference (TPM): Ron Widdows speech

Port of Los Angeles to pay for containers?

California ports’ risk losing dominance in Trans-Pacific trade

Lower container volumes = less work for ILWU

Governor Schwarzenegger vetoes Container Tax Bill

Long Beach / Los Angeles to implement yet another container fee

Be sure to check out our interview with the Prince Rupert Port Authority as well.

Ouch! Cargo traffic at SFO falls 15.1%

Business is Booming For U.S. Ports

U.S. cargo down for 18th month in a row

LA and Long Beach Container Volumes Down