THE Port of Long Beach reported a seven per cent increase in December imports year on year, while neighbouring Los Angeles reported a 4.5 per cent decline.
Long Beach handled a total of 7,192,066 TEU in 2015 with imports up 3.1 per cent and exports down 4.9 per cent.
LA volumes were down 2.1 per cent to 8,160,457 TEU for 2015. LA port executive director Gene Seroka said the decline was due to the congestion in the early part of the year.
Los Angeles and Long Beach reported combined December import volume that was just 0.7 per cent greater than the same month in 2014 and 0.6 per cent more than December 2013.
The muted close to the year came as overall US trade figures are slipping and shipping volumes suggest companies are slowing down investment, reported the Wall Street Journal.
Long Beach said imports were up seven per cent over December 2014 to 296,002 TEU. Exports fell 4.1 per cent in December to 126,118 TEU year on year.
For the year, total container volume at Long Beach was up 5.4 per cent, a strong performance in a year where congestion clogged the southern California ports for months - driving volumes far below their usual levels in January and February.
Congestion hit shippers as early as December of 2014, which may have contributed to the port's strong year-on-year growth for those months in 2015.
Analysts have attributed the decline in exports to weak foreign markets for US goods and the persistent strength of the dollar.
PORTS
15 January 2016 - 21:13
LA down 2.1pc in 2015 to 8.1 million TEU - LB up 3.2pc to 7.1 million TEU
THE Port of Long Beach reported a seven per cent increase in December imports year on year, while neighbouring Los Angeles reported a 4.5 per cent decline.
PORTS
15 January 2016 - 21:13
LA down 2.1pc in 2015 to 8.1 million TEU - LB up 3.2pc to 7.1 million TEU
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