Another port tumble

June container traffic out of the Port of Long Beach fell 28.7 percent from a year earlier, an especially sharp drop that doesn't bode well for any near-term recovery. The low number of items coming into the U.S. shows that retailers don't expect much of a holiday season (total number of containers fell between May and June). Inbound cargo fell 28.4 percent and outbound fell 28.8 percent. Several new forecasts indicate little improvement until 2010 (maybe). L.A. is not yet out with its June numbers.