The Port of Los Angeles announced April 12 that it processed 623,234 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in March 2023, closing out a “soft first quarter.”

Overall, the port has handled 1,837,094 TEUs through the first three months of 2023. When compared to 2022, this marks a 32% decrease in TEUs handled through the first quarter of 2023. March 2023 also represents the eighth month in a row that the Port of Los Angeles has seen a year-to-date decline in TEUs handled.

For the month of March 2023, loaded imports topped out at 319,962 TEUs, a 35% drop-off compared to March 2022. Meanwhile, loaded exports for March 2023 fell by 12% from 2022 to 98,276 TEUs. The port also landed 104,996 empty container TEUs in March, a 42% year-over-year decline compared to March 2022.

Seroka explained that economic conditions “slowed global trade considerably in the first quarter.” However, he did say that the Port of Los Angeles is “beginning to see some signs of improvement.”

The data for the first quarter of 2023 was reported by Gene Seroka, the Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles, at a media briefing where he was joined by Peter Voorhoeve, the President of Volvo Trucks North America.

During the briefing, Voorhoeve highlighted the work being done by both the Port of Los Angeles and Volvo to bring zero-emission, heavy-duty trucks to the U.S. market. In a statement, the Port of Los Angeles said that Volvo and other original equipment manufacturers are working together to help the port transition to a zero-emissions drayage fleet by 2035.