Down month at L.A. port

November shipments at the Port of L.A. were off 10.4 percent, yet another monthly decline in what's turned out to be an awful year - and pretty reflective of the overall economy. Imports were down 9.7 percent and exports were down 12.8 percent. Earlier this year, you may recall, the export numbers were up sharply, but that was before the economic downturn turned global. Year to date, total shipments at the port were off 5.3 percent. I have not seen November numbers from the Port of Long Beach.

By the way, China reports that its November exports fell 2.2 percent from a year earlier. That's the first decline in exports since June 2001. From the WSJ:

Perhaps even more worrying, imports fell 17.9% in November from a year earlier, after they rose 15.6% in October and more than 20% last year. That signals declining demand for components that would go into future exports, and weakness in China's domestic economy. Chinese producers of low-end goods such as toys and textiles have been struggling all year. But now sales of higher-end machinery and electronics are declining as the U.S. economy has deteriorated sharply.

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In the coastal city of Yuyao, Ningbo Wanglong Group claims that years of rapid expansion have made it one of the world's largest producers of preservatives for food and feed. But export orders for the additives, sorbic acid and potassium sorbate, have declined rapidly since September. "We've never experienced this before. We don't know what happened," said Zhou Hong, a sales manager. He said shipments to distributors in the U.S. and other overseas markets have plunged by roughly 50% to 60% in recent months.