In Depth Analysis: CalculatedRisk Newsletter on Real Estate (Ad Free) Read it here.

Friday, December 16, 2011

LA area Port Traffic declines year-over-year in November

by Calculated Risk on 12/16/2011 09:41:00 AM

The following graphs are for inbound and outbound traffic at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in TEUs (TEUs: 20-foot equivalent units or 20-foot-long cargo container).

Although containers tell us nothing about value, container traffic does give us an idea of the volume of goods being exported and imported - and possible hints about the trade report for November. LA area ports handle about 40% of the nation's container port traffic.

To remove the strong seasonal component for inbound traffic, the first graph shows the rolling 12 month average.

LA Area Port TrafficClick on graph for larger image.

On a rolling 12 month basis, inbound traffic is down 0.3% from October, and outbound traffic is down 0.2%.

Inbound traffic is "rolling over" and outbound traffic has stopped increasing.

The 2nd graph is the monthly data (with a strong seasonal pattern for imports).

LA Area Port TrafficFor the month of November, loaded inbound traffic was down 4% compared to November 2010, and loaded outbound traffic was down 2% compared to November 2010.

Exports have been increasing, although bouncing around month-to-month. This is only the 2nd month with a year-over-year decline in exports since Sept 2009.

Imports have been soft - this is the sixth month in a row with a year-over-year decline in imports.

All current trade graphs