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Through Aug. 23, there were an average of 19.6 containerships at berth at the U.S. ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach per day in August, according to Marine Exchange of Southern California (MXSOCAL) data, topping the average of 19.4 at berth per day in the full month of July. On Monday, there were 26 containerships at berth at the two Southern California ports, the highest daily count since September 2022. The all-time high was 35 ships, recorded in January and November 2021.
MXSOCAL also tracks the number of containerships en route to Los Angeles and Long Beach. Under the queuing system implemented in November 2021, container line operators provide a calculated time of arrival (CTA) as soon as they depart Asian ports. The number of containerships with CTAs beyond the current date is an indicator of inbound flows over the coming weeks.
The bellwether averaged 40.4 ships in March, 44.5 in April, 44.6 in May, 48.8 in June and 54.9 in July. In August to date, an average of 54.7 containerships per day have had CTAs beyond the current date, with a monthly high of 60 reached on Aug. 15, compared to a monthly high of 64 in July.
Not only do these numbers imply Los Angeles and Long Beach imports will stay high in August in comparison to the exceptional results in July, they also point to continued import strength through early September.