Some 434,731 20-foot containers made their way through the port last month, compared to the previous record of 409,979 containers in July. Last month's volume was up a strong 8.9% from a year earlier.

Port officials credited the strong shipping pace to the continued recovery of Asia's economy and strong domestic demand for imported goods. The Long Beach report comes just two days after the nearby Port of Los Angeles said it set an American record by moving 464,045 containers in August, up a staggering 33.3% from a year earlier.

The strong import-export activity at both ports has fueled a boom in construction of office and industrial projects in the South Bay. But despite all the new projects, the area's industrial vacancy factor has dropped below 4% and rents for warehouse and distribution space have jumped by more than 10% over the past year, brokerage reports say.