THE Port of Long Beach marked its second-busiest October on record last month, despite capacity limitations at marine terminals that have impeded cargo flows at the port, according to the Long Beach Business Journal.

The port handled 789,716 TEU, down 2.1 per cent from the same month last year, which was the port's strongest October on record. Imports decreased 4.3 per cent to 385,000 TEU, while exports increased 6.6 per cent to 122,214 TEU. Empty containers moved through the port declined 2.4 per cent to 282,502 TEU.

Port of Long Beach executive director Mario Cordero, said: "Every sector of the supply chain has reached capacity and it is time for all of us to step up and get these goods delivered."

Port officials, state legislators and the federal government have implemented several programmes to combat the backlog at the San Pedro Bay ports in recent weeks, including an initiative to identify vacant land where containers can be stored, an ongoing transition to expanded hours of operation at terminals, and implementing a fee to push ocean carriers to remove their containers from the port more quickly.

"We're doing everything we can with help from the supply chain to get goods off the ships and onto store shelves in time for the holidays," said Long Beach Harbour Commission president Steven Neal.

The fee on containers left behind at the port appears to be showing early results. Since it was enacted on November 1, the number of loaded import containers dwelling at the port has decreased by 20 per cent, officials said.

In total, the Port of Long Beach has moved 7.88 million TEU during the first 10 months of 2021, up 21 per cent from the same period in 2020. According to officials, the port is on pace to move more than 9 million TEU by the end of this year, surpassing the current record of 8.1 million TEU in 2020.