More ships calling at the Port of Long Beach in April thanks to new business and changes to vessel deployments helped to push container volumes 16.5 percent higher compared to the same month last year.

For the calendar year so far, cargo volume at the port is up 5.1 percent from 2016.

“We continue to be on pace for a strong year,” said Harbor Commission President Lori Ann Guzmán. “In April, we were pleased to welcome back Hyundai Merchant Marine as well as a new customer, SM Line. As shipping lines around the world settle into new alliance routes, our many business partners can depend on Long Beach to provide a safe harbor for their goods with our signature efficient and sustainable services.”

A total of 558,014 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) moved through Long Beach in April. Inbound boxes numbered 288,207, an increase of 16.5 percent. Long Beach handled 116,260 loaded outbound TEUs during the month, up 3.1 percent. Empty containers returning overseas to be filled with goods jumped to 153,547 TEUs, 29.3 percent higher.

The Port of Long Beach is a gateway for transpacific trade, with 175 shipping lines connecting Long Beach to 217 seaports, and handling $180 billion in trade annually.