US container export exceeds import in 2008

Archiv – In 2008 the US is exporting more loaded containers than empties, according to statistics. From January to July, exports jumped more than 27% compared with the same period of 2007 at the nation’s two busiest container ports, Los Angeles and Long Beach, California. But the export boom overshadows a deep pullback in US consumer spending.United States | In 2008 the US is exporting more loaded containers than empties, according to statistics. From January to July, exports jumped more than 27% compared with the same period of 2007 at the nation’s two busiest container ports, Los Angeles and Long Beach, California. But the export boom overshadows a deep pullback in US consumer spending.
Imports are down so much that the twin ports are on pace to record their second consecutive year of declines in overall international trade. That hasn’t happened in at least 30 years, despite a handful of national recessions along the way. Aided by the weak dollar, which makes US goods cheaper for foreign buyers, outgoing traffic from the five big West Coast ports was up by as much as 23% in Los Angeles and 23.2% in Long Beach. Meanwhile, the number of empty containers shipped back to Asia for refilling with imports was down by at least 22.1% at each of the major ports. The slowdown has hit almost every harbor in North America.
Of the 10 busiest seaports that are tracked every month by the US largest retailers for signs of congestion, only two are doing more business than last year. One is Vancouver, British Columbia, which is serving an economy much healthier than that of the United States. The other is Savannah, Garamond, which is winning market share as the first big East Coast stop for cargo headed north from the Panama Canal.
Weakness in the U. S. economy is mirrored on these docks, says Paul Bingham, Managing Director of trade and transportation markets for the Washington-based forecasting company Global Insight.
’You can find all of the economic symptoms of the downturn in these numbers,’ Bingham said. ’Unfortunately, this is a bad-news story. We haven’t even found the bottom yet.’ Many observers hoped for a turnaround in the second half of 2008, but now they don’t see one happening before the second quarter of 2009.
At the five top West Coast ports ‘€’ Los Angeles; Long Beach; Seattle; Oakland, Calif.; and Tacoma, Wash. ‘€’ imports were down by as much as 13% through the first seven months of the year.