Weaker export traffic at the ports in February

Outbound container traffic at the Port of Los Angeles was up 1.6 percent from a year earlier and down 1 percent at the Port of Long Beach. Since the L.A. area ports handle about 40 percent of the nation's container activity, the sluggish numbers would suggest a slowdown in exports, one area that has been fairly strong over the last year or so. Not to put too fine a point on a single month of data, especially since 2010 was so strong, but the lower numbers might be worth watching in light of a possible drop in exports to Japan (second-largest trading partner in the L.A. Customs District). Meanwhile, inbound traffic was up 3.2 percent in L.A. and and 12.4 percent in Long Beach. The L.A. Economic Development Corp. is projecting moderate increases in trade volumes for 2011 (though its recent forecast came out before the disaster in Japan).