Cargo Volumes at L.A. Port Fell 23% in February

(Bloomberg) -- Cargo volume at the Port of Los Angeles fell 23% in February as the U.S.’s busiest entryway for ocean trade with China deals with the fallout from coronavirus.

Factory production in China remains at low levels due to the virus, port officials said in a statement Tuesday.

February imports through the L.A. Port fell 23% to 270,025 20-foot equivalent units from a year earlier, while exports dropped by 5.7% to 134,468 TEUs.

Port officials expect soft volumes in March as well, but shippers are preparing for a surge once factories in China reopen, according to the statement.

“Looking ahead to anticipated manufacturing improvements, we will need to return empty containers to Asia and push lingering U.S. export boxes out swiftly,” Port of L.A. Executive Director Gene Seroka said.

Container volume was down 13% in the first two months of this year.

--With assistance from Jackie Davalos.

To contact the reporter on this story: Christopher Palmeri in Los Angeles at cpalmeri1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Sarah McGregor, Robert Jameson

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