Sluggish at port

Ouch - October traffic at the Port of Long Beach fell 24 percent compared with the same period a year earlier. It's been pretty much the same story all year as retailers trim their orders from Asia - and export traffic, though not down quite as sharply as import, is still down. Consumers remain hesitant to buy, of course, but another factor is the tightening of inventories as a cost-cutting effort. Macy's cited reduced inventory the other day in reporting a third-quarter loss that was narrower than expected. That's good for retailers because they're less likely to get stuck with a bunch of merchandise that they'll need to discount.


More by Mark Lacter:
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Those awful infographics that promise to explain and only distort
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Should Twitter be valued at $18 billion?
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Mark Lacter
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.
 
Mark Lacter, business writer and editor was 59
The multi-talented Mark Lacter
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