THE downward revision last week of 0.7 per cent to the first quarter US gross domestic product (GDP) was partly to be blamed on the delay at west coast ports that began amid labour strife late last year and took a large toll on exports, economists said.
The US Commerce Department pointed out that the result of harsh weather and a strong dollar sapped demand for American-made goods resulting in exports declining by 7.6 per cent in the quarter, worse than the 7.2 per cent that economists expected.
The exports of goods fell by 14 per cent, the most in six years, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The combined ports of Seattle and Tacoma recorded a decline of 19.1 per cent in exports of loaded shipping containers in the first three months of the year compared with the year earlier period.
The Port of Long Beach reported that loaded outbound shipping container volume fell 16.3 per cent in the first quarter compared with the first three months of 2014.
In Los Angeles, the first quarter decline was 5.3 per cent, while at the port of Oakland exports of full containers fell 21.7 per cent.
Said IHS economist Charles Clowdis: "The long lines at the LA and Long Beach harbours, with all those truckers waiting to get in, Oakland, Seattle, San Diego - all those ports got very congested, very quickly as LA and Long Beach got backed up.
"If you're selling something overseas, and shipping something to the Far East, you couldn't get your box off the train, into the port and onto the ship.?Some of the delays were so severe that frustrated foreign customers cancelled orders.
Economist Paul Bingham with EDR Group, a Boston-based consultancy that focuses on transportation, said: "The congestion was severe enough that the priority was on getting imports landed, which is to say, getting the boxes off the ships and getting them loaded onto trucks. Exports were a lower priority.
"It wasn't just a matter of a shipment being delayed; it was that you lost the order. The congestion lasted long enough that you had customers overseas not making the orders. That's what really hurt the exporters. Even with congestion cleared," he said, the strength of the US dollar remains a concern for exporters.
PORTS
06 June 2015 - 07:26
Port congestion and strong dollar takes toll on US exports
THE downward revision last week of 0.7 per cent to the first quarter US gross domestic product (GDP) was partly to be blamed on the delay at west coast ports that began amid labour strife late last year and took a large toll on exports, economists said.
PORTS
06 June 2015 - 07:26
Port congestion and strong dollar takes toll on US exports
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