LOS ANGELES, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- September volume at the Port of Los Angeles, the largest U.S. container port, increased 4.9 percent compared to same month last year, marking the strongest September in the port's 111-year history.

"The #PortofLA processed 801,264 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in September 2018, a 4.9% increase compared to September 2017. It was the strongest September in the Port's 111-year history," the port announced Tuesday on its official Twitter page.

The Los Angeles Business Journal website also reported that imports at the port increased by 6.6 percent to 414,281 TEUs compared to the previous year and exports increased 14.5 percent to 147,000 TEUs, while empty containers fell 2.7 percent to 239,983.

However, the September's volume declined from the 826,638 TEUs in August.

The port's Executive Director Gene Seroka was quoted as saying that two factors, including shippers importing holiday season inventories and manufacturers bringing supplies and materials in advance of additional cost impacts from tariffs, kept the volume going at high level.

The volume at the Port of Los Angeles surged in container count before U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a 10-percent tariff on aluminum and 25 percent on steel in May since shippers raced to beat the additional taxes, the report said, adding that recent surges in container movement had been attributed to threats of additional tariffs by Trump.

The port of Los Angeles handled 9.3 million TEUs in calendar year 2017, the most cargo volume in the Western Hemisphere. The port's top trading partner is the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, with 137 billion U.S. dollars worth of products in 2016.