West Coast wipeout: Los Angeles, Long Beach imports still sinking

Los Angeles had expected its numbers to be ugly in February — and they were.

“The decline was indeed steep,” acknowledged Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka during a press conference Friday.

Total throughput fell to only 487,846 twenty-foot equivalent units in February, plunging 43% year on year. Last month’s throughput was down 33% from January and 31% from February 2019, pre-COVID.

Los Angeles fell back to third place among U.S. container ports for the month of February. The Port of New York/New Jersey topped Los Angeles during several months in 2022; it did so again in February, taking the top spot with 571,177 TEUs, 17% above Los Angeles.

Long Beach reported February throughput of 543,675 TEUs, 11% above Los Angeles.