Southern California breaking news and trends
Port of Los Angeles pumps up the volume, reports busiest April in history
Photo by Greg Bishop via Flickr Creative Commons
Shipping containers at the Port of Los Angeles.
The Port of Los Angeles has sailed into history with a record-breaking container volume count. Try to contain your excitement.
The combined import/export container volume for last month saw a 15-percent increase over the numbers from April 2011.
The busiest April in port history, overall container volume (factoring in empties) jumped to 551,393 over last year's 479,808 count for the same month.
The occasionally toxic port, and long-time home of The Love Boat, broke export records in 2011, besting 2010 by 14.5 percent.
Additional data to digest: Arriving 20-foot equivalent containers increased 16.7 percent, from 312,359 containers in April 2011 to 364,555 last month. Exports increased 11.5 percent, from 167,448 containers in April 2011 to 186,838 last month.
Lisa Brenner can be reached via Twitter @lisa_brenner
Days of 'rotten egg' smell prompts clean-up at LA port
Photo by Greg Bishop via Flickr Creative Commons
Approximately 150-200 gallons of rancid water seeped from the ground at the Port of Los Angeles causing a strong "rotten egg" smell and prompting an official clean up on Tuesday.
The spill and smell near Berth 136 was reported to shipping personnel by a plumber over the weekend, however it was not addressed until "the foul odor became more pronounced," according to port spokesman Phillip Sanfield, reports the Long Beach Press-Telegram.
LAFD officials were alerted just after 11 a.m. on Tuesday, and 20 firefighters were dispatched with a hazardous material team to the San Pedro port, said department spokesman Erik Scott.
Scott classified the situation as a "static spill" of hydrogen sulfide -- a poisonous compound often associated with sewers. Tests revealed "rancid water, which may explain the rotten egg smell," Sanfield said.
Hot wheels: Stolen Ferraris found in boxes marked 'used exercise equipment'
Federal agents in Los Angeles have seized $1.5 million worth of stolen, luxury vehicles bound for Asia, they announced Tuesday.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach discovered the aqua-caravan of Ferraris, Mercedes and Audis after a Ferrari dealer tipped off agents in February, said Director of Field Operations Carlos Martel.
Four of the 16 cars recovered in the operation were seized in Vietnam. The rest were seized when a ship was ordered to return to port last week just after departing.
The hot wheels were found by officers in containers marked "used exercise equipment."
The highlight of the repossession was a Ferrari 458 Italia valued at over $280,000. Martel says the investigation is in the early stages, and that no one has been arrested.
Ocean Tetris: Port of Los Angeles breaks yearly export record
Photo by Greg Bishop via Flickr Creative Commons
The Port of Los Angeles is breaking export records again, topping last year's all-time-high by 14.5 percent with more than two million cargo containers loaded and shipped from the port in 2010.
In all, the port handled almost eight million containers, including empties, which also marked an increase from the previous year.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa spoke about future improvements in a statement, saying, “We’re fortunate to have stronger year-over-year results in 2011 but we are not resting on our laurels as the nation’s premier trade gateway.”
"Exports at the port have been helped by the continued weakness of the U.S. dollar," says the Los Angeles Business Journal, which also attributes the boost in business to the arrival of terminal operator California United Terminals from Long Beach.
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