3:45pm | The Port of Long Beach announced a 30% increase of total cargo containers traded through the harbor in September, compared to September of 2009. The massive leap forward is a sign that business is quickly picking up at the port after a very slow period last year that has began to recover slowly but is now improving rapidly.

It marks the tenth consecutive month of cargo growth, and trade at the Port of Long Beach is now at its highest level since the beginning of the recession in 2008.

The Port recorded a 30.5% increase in total twenty-foot equivalent units, or T.E.U., this September compared to September 2009. Outbound cargo grew by 13.4% (109,337 last year to 124,021 units) and inbound cargo grew by 28.4% (224,924 last year to 288,905). In July of this summer, the Port recorded a whopping 36% overall increase. In the past twelve months, total cargo activity has increased by 12.4%.

Cargo traffic at the port reached all-time highs in 2007 before the economic collapse of 2008, when business at the Port of Long Beach dropped significantly and has slowly crawled back. Current numbers still have not reached the atmospheric traffic seen a few years ago but rapid sign of incoming goods is seen by most economists as a sign of healthy economic growth for the entire nation.

Related: Has The Port Of Long Beach Exaggerated The Panama Canal Threat?

Anticipating a massive increase of incoming containers in the next few years, the Harbor Board of Commissioners last year unanimously approved plans to expand and renovate the Port’s facilities with the Middle Harbor Project that is expected to double existing capabilities. Supporters also say that more efficient techniques will produce 50% less pollution once the ten-year project is complete and fully operational.

The Port recently produced this video highlighting recent successes.