The Port of Los Angeles excels in 2020 despite disruption
The Port of Los Angeles, the USA’s busiest container port moved 9.2 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in 2020, Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka announced at the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association’s sixth annual State of the Port of Los Angeles – a virtual event this year.
A late-year surge of pandemic-induced consumer spending helped boost volumes to near 2019 levels, making 2020 the fourth highest-volume year in the Port’s history.
“Our container business in 2020 was the most erratic we have ever seen, with volumes plunging nearly 19% in the first five months of the year, followed by an unprecedented second-half surge,” Seroka said. “Our ILWU longshore workforce did a great job adapting to the huge swings in volume, as did port truckers and everyone else involved in moving cargo through our Port. In a year of great difficulty, we are extremely grateful for the tenacity and resolve of all of our partners.”