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.