by Calculated Risk on 8/13/2018 04:08:00 PM

From the Port of Long Beach: July Container Volumes Dip in Long Beach

The Port of Long Beach saw a decline in container volumes in July compared to the same month a year ago, which hit a historic high that has since been surpassed.

The drop, 4.4 percent, was attributed to shipping alliances’ decisions in July to shift vessel deployment and port calls. Port officials also raised concerns that escalating tariffs could slow trade activity — thus far the busiest in the Port’s 107-year history — during the remainder of the year.
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For the calendar year, the Port of Long Beach is on pace for its busiest year ever, topping 2017. Through July, volumes are 11.3 percent or almost half a million TEUs over the same period in 2017, totaling 4.6 million TEUs. June 2018 volume at the Port was the highest in its history, at 752,188 TEUs.

This is the lowest level for exports in almost a year (imports are seasonal, so this is the lowest level for imports since April). The decline in exports could be related to shippers trying to beat the tariffs in June. I'll post a graph once the Port of Los Angeles reports July traffic.