L.A., Seattle ports report double-digit box declines in February

L.A., Seattle ports report double-digit box declines in February    The U.S. West Coast ports of Los Angeles and Seattle both suffered double-digit drops in box volumes in February.
   The Port of Los Angeles reported a 13.3 percent decline in its box throughput to 480,814 TEUs in February from 554,465 TEUs in the same month 2005. Loaded inbound traffic dropped 14.4 percent to 247,693 TEUs, while loaded outbound volume went up 10.5 percent to 96,481 TEUs from 87,297 TEUs. Total loaded containers decreased 8.6 percent to 344,174 TEUs in February when compared to the same month in 2005. The number of empty containers handled at the port dropped 23 percent to 136,640 TEUs.
   The Port of Seattle handled 136,994 TEUs in February, a drop of 10.9 percent compared to the same month in 2005. International import container volume at the Pacific Northwest port decreased 16 percent to 52,995 TEUs, while international exports dipped 11 percent to 36,217 TEUs. Seattle’s domestic traffic improved 3.2 percent to 24,112 TEUs while total empty container throughput increased 2.3 percent to 23,970 TEUs.
   The results for Los Angeles and Seattle are in contrast to the Port of Long Beach, which handled 515,464 TEUs in February, a 3.5 percent rise over 582,614 TEUs in the same month in 2005.