THE Port of Los Angeles handled 889,000 TEU in November, a 22 per cent increase compared to the same month last year.

However, that number could have been closer to 990,000 TEU, according to executive director Gene Seroka.

"It's worth noting that there were 12 ships at anchor on November 30 awaiting berthing rights here in Los Angeles with an estimated 100,000 TEU on board. Those vessels were delayed by about two days and thus shifted into our December data," Mr Seroka reported during a virtual press conference.

He said 88 container vessels called the Port of LA in November. There were nine "extra loaders," added calls because of high demand in Asia, and there were no cancelled sailings.

"After 11 months of year-on-year cargo declines, we've now stitched together four consecutive months - August through November - of year-on-year growth. During this period, the monthly TEU average was almost 930,000 units, an indicator of the powerful import surge and its duration," he said.

The continuing surge is reflected in the 464,000 TEU of imports moved at the Port of LA in November. That's a 25 per cent year-over-year increase. Exports totalled more than 130,000 TEU, "a disappointing 5.5 per cent decrease compared to last November. Year to date, exports are down 13 per cent and have dropped a woeful 23 out of the last 25 months, mainly on the heels of the continued and ongoing trade tensions with China and the strength of the US dollar, making our goods expensive to sell in overseas markets," Mr Seroka said.

Empty containers exceeded 294,000 TEU for the month, a 34 per cent increase compared to last year, reports New York's FreightWaves.

From January 1 to November 30, the port moved about 8.3 million TEU - about 3 per cent behind 2019

The new year is expected to start strong. "Our first look at January volume indicates approximately 850,000 TEU, which would be about 5 per cent more than a very busy January 2020," said Mr Seroka, who pointed out retailers and economists are forecasting imports will remain strong through at least early spring.