File photo. 

Cargo traffic for the Port of Long Beach (POLB) decreased last month by four percent in comparison to June 2014, POLB officials announced Thursday.

A release issued today states that June 2014 numbers were “particularly busy” in comparison to other years, as shippers were preparing for the expiration of longshoremen contracts at the end of the month. 

Of the total 583,621 twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs), 287,189 were imports, a decrease of six percent for that month. Exports were down as well, at 128,223 TEUs, while the number of empty containers was up 2.4 percent to 128,223 TEUs.

Overall, numbers for the first six months of 2015 were essentially flat, increasing by about .01 percent, compared to the first six months of 2014, the release stated.