Cargo up in Long Beach Last Year

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Last year was the Port of Long Beach’s third-busiest, port officials said late Tuesday, as cargo container volume rose 1.3 percent over 2013.

More than 6.8 million containers moved through the port last year, with imports up 1.8 percent and exports down 5.9 percent from the year before. The port’s busiest years were 2006 and 2007, when 7.3 million containers moved through the port each year.

December saw 567,000 containers move through the port, an increase of 2.6 percent over the same month in 2013. Imports fell 5.1 percent and exports declined by 11.2 percent, but overall figures were buoyed by an 11.5 percent increase in the number of empty containers leaving the port.

The neighboring Port of Los Angeles reported December and year-end cargo figures last week. There, cargo traffic rose 1 percent in December and 6 percent for the year. Last year was also the third-busiest year for the Los Angeles port, behind only 2006 and 2007.