Container traffic gives us an idea about the volume of goods being exported and imported - and usually some hints about the trade report since LA area ports handle about 40% of the nation's container port traffic.
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).
To remove the strong seasonal component for inbound traffic, the first graph shows the rolling 12-month average.
On a rolling 12-month basis, inbound traffic decreased 2.2% in October compared to the rolling 12 months ending in September. Outbound traffic decreased 0.4% compared to the rolling 12 months ending the previous month.
The 2nd graph is the monthly data (with a strong seasonal pattern for imports).
Imports were down 26% YoY in October, and exports were down 5% YoY.
It is possible that exports have bottomed after declining for several years (even prior to the pandemic).