Local Port Activity Dips in August

A downshift in the economies in Europe, China and several emerging markets is reflected in the falling cargo-container traffic at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif.

In August, the latest data available, the Port of Long Beach saw overall cargo-container traffic inch up 1.4 percent from a year ago to 543,445 20-foot containers. Next door at the Port of Los Angeles, volumes were off 2.3 percent to 706,669 containers,Most telling were the export numbers. At the Port of Los Angeles, outbound cargo-container volume in August shrunk 10.5 percent to 164,819 containers. Exports were down 6 percent at the Port of Long Beach to 128,225 containers.

Import numbers weren’t quite as dismal. At the Port of Los Angeles, import cargo was off 4.1 percent to 360,762 containers. At the Port of Long Beach, imports shriveled 2.9 percent to 274,977 containers.

Trade numbers have been declining around the world. The sovereign-debt problem in Europe is contributing to a recession there, and the always-robust Chinese market is starting to show signs of moderation, with its gross domestic product predicted to increase only 7.5 percent, which is the weakest annual expansion since 1990.Recently, the World Trade Organization projected that global trade volume in goods will expand only 2.5 percent this year, down from 5 percent in 2011 and nearly 14 percent in 2010.

The Obama administration has been pushing U.S. businesses to develop overseas export markets to help the economy grow. However, during the first seven months of this year, apparel and textile exports expanded only 1.67 percent from the previous year to $13.2 billion.—Deborah Belgum