Business Is Booming at Port of Los Angeles

The Port of Los Angeles continued to break in-house cargo volume records in April, taking in more than 400,000 containers in a single month for the first time in its history, port officials said. With transpacific trade booming and more ships calling on the port than last year, the facility handled more than 211,000 import cargo containers, 44% more than in April 1999. Exports, which have been steadily rebounding along with improved economic conditions in Asia, topped 85,000, a 34% increase over year-ago levels. Bruce Stanton, the port’s chief operating officer, attributed the jump in imports to U.S. retailers’ early stockpiling of Christmas merchandise. April marks the fourth month in a row that port imports have set month-over-month records. Figures from the neighboring Port of Long Beach were not available.