Port of L.A. February traffic down 33%

Port of L.A. February traffic down 33% The Port of Los Angeles said continued weakness in the world economy and Chinese New Year observance factory closures contributed to a 32.6 percent decline in February container traffic, compared to the year-earlier period.
      The port said container volumes are down 20.9 percent for the calendar year and 8.9 percent for the fiscal year, which began July 1, 2008.
      'February is typically our slowest month because of the factory closings for Chinese New Year,' said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Geraldine Knatz. 'Coupled with high unemployment rates, decreased consumer spending and fewer ship calls made February an unusually bad month for us.'