Bunker deliveries into Los Angeles, Long Beach in July down 36% on year

2013-09-26

Bunker fuel deliveries in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in July were together down 36% year on year, according to ports data Wednesday.

Deliveries for bunker fuel in both ports totaled 813,980 barrels for July, a 458,433-barrel decrease from the year-ago month. The 813,980 barrels delivered for July for Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach combined was down from the 948,380 barrels delivered in July 2012 for the Port of Los Angeles alone.

For the first seven months of 2013, 7.31 million barrels of bunker fuel were delivered into Los Angeles and Long Beach, down 3.27 million barrels, or 30.92%, from the year-ago period.

Deliveries in both ports were below 1 million barrels for the second consecutive month. In 2012, deliveries totaled fewer than 1 million barrels only once, in November.

Participants in the Los Angeles/Long Beach bunker fuel market have said the volatile price movements in Los Angeles have played a factor in causing business to move elsewhere.

Other factors cited for the decrease in deliveries into Los Angeles and Long Beach have been lower global bunker fuel demand, ships using techniques like slow-steaming, which uses less bunker fuel, and the emergence of the Far East Russian bunker fuel market, where prices can be as much as $150-200/mt below prices on the West Coast.

Source from : Platts

HEADLINES