March cargo volumes jumped 29 percent at the Port of Los Angeles compared to the previous year. The robust numbers came through a combination of strong export volumes (up 20 percent), a post Lunar New Year surge of cargo from Asia, and U.S. retailers shipping merchandise ahead of the new vessel alliance deployments that began this month. For the first quarter of 2017, cargo has increased 10 percent compared to 2016.

We are pleased to end the first quarter of 2017 with strong volumes and continually efficient cargo handling operations, said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka. We continue to earn the confidence of shippers and are encouraged by the strength of our supply chain partners. In the coming months, we will remain laser focused on infrastructure improvements, technology solutions, and a strategic use of resources to ensure that we meet the needs of our marine terminal customers and the carriers they serve.

March 2017 container volumes of 788,524 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) increased 29 percent compared to the March 2016 volumes of 612,863 TEUs. The Port's most recent five-year average of March container volumes is 646,724, and this year's volumes represent a 22 percent increase over the five-year average. March 2017 imports jumped 30 percent to 373,549 TEUs compared to the previous year. Exports increased 20 percent to 191,772TEUs. Total loaded volumes of 565,321 TEUs increased 27 percent compared to the previous year. Empty containers grew 34 percent to 223,203 TEUs.