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L.A./Long Beach Feb port cargo down 36.6 pct yr/yr |
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Wednesday, 18 March 2009 |
 February loaded oceangoing cargoes at the side-by-side ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach fell 36.6 percent from the previous February, the two ports showed in separate reports.
The slowdown for February is much more pronounced than it was in
January, when the year-on-year decrease in cargo traffic at the two
Southern California ports was 18.7 percent.
The ports are the two busiest in the United States, handling more than 40 percent of imported consumer goods.
The two ports showed inbound cargoes down 38.8 percent and outbound
cargoes down 32.2 percent in February 2009 from February 2008.
The traffic fell as "consumer sales are down due to high unemployment
rates," according to the Port of Los Angeles' report, which was issued
last week.
The Long Beach report, issued on Tuesday, showed inbound cargo for February down a whopping 43.3 percent.
"Over the last 20-something years, we haven't had too many declines and
surely not on the order we are seeing now," said port spokesman Art
Wong.
In the past 20 years, the two ports have seen traffic rising as Asian
imports, mainly from China, increased their share of U.S. consumer
goods sold.
Container traffic at the two ports is an indicator of retail activity.
Most of the imported consumer goods made in China and other Asian
countries go through the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports.
Port traffic is also an indication of demand for diesel fuel, which
accounts for about two-thirds of overall U.S. distillate fuel use.
Distillate fuel also includes jet fuel and home heating oil. Almost all
U.S. diesel use is tied to goods and service deliveries by truck.
Port traffic is measured in 20-foot equivalents (TEU). One TEU
represents the smallest standard shipping container in international
trade. Containers generally measure between 20 feet and 50 feet.
Los Angeles and Long Beach February loaded inbound cargo at 355,934 TEU, down 38.8 percent from 581,676 TEU a year ago.
Outbound February cargoes at the two Southern California ports were
204,376 TEU, down 32.2 percent from 301,402 TEU in February 2008.
Source: Reuters
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