Port of L. A Ranks First among West Coast Ports in 1999

The Port of Los Angeles handled an increase of 242,522 units of 20-foo
t-long loaded cargo containers in 1999 compared to 1998 to lead all We
st Coast ports, based on a report by the Port Import Export Reporting
Service(PIERS).
Sufficient in volume to fill 50 large containerships, the Port’s 11%
increase pushed its loaded container total last year to 2,536,425 TEUs
(twenty-foot equivalent units, maritime terminology used when counting
marine cargo containers), as compared to 2,293,903 TEUs in 1998. Cont
ainer volume last year comprised 1,902,640 loaded inbound TEUs and 633
,785 loaded outbound TEUs.
The Port’s loaded container total accounted for 30.6% of all loaded c
ontainer traffic handled by West Coast ports in 1999, as compared to 2
9.7% market share in 1998.
In December 1999 alone, the Port of Los Angeles moved 226,576 loaded T
EUs(168,746 TEUs loaded inbound and 57,830 TEUs loaded outbound), a 21
% rise of 38,775 loaded TEUs compared to December 1998. The Port’s lo
aded TEU increase in December 1999 ranked first among West Coast ports
.
The Port of Los Angeles attributed its container growth in 1999 to maj
or economic and business factors, including the strong U.S. economy an
d active U.S. consumer purchasing activity at the retail level, econom
ic recovery and stabilization in major Asian markets, and increased ca
rgo volume and cargo volume capacity handled by new and existing shipp
ing line accounts.