SoCal ports December exports up

SoCal ports December exports up    The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach said exports helped drive volumes up in December over the same 2008 period.
   The Port of Los Angeles said it handled 562,990 TEUs in December, 1,957 more boxes than in the December 2008, about a 0.3 percent increase. That was entirely due to an increase in exports, as loaded container exports were up 40 percent to 153,836 TEUs.
   Still, it was greeted as good news in a port where container volume in 2009 was down 14 percent compared to 2008.
   'December showed that retailers maintained lower inventories through the holiday season, but the spike in loaded outbound containers was a nice way to put a tough year behind us,' said Port Executive Director Geraldine Knatz. 'We are cautiously optimistic about 2010, hoping that consumer confidence will start improving inbound volumes and the market recovery overseas will continue to drive our export volumes.'
   Long Beach handled 467,237 TEUs in December compared to 429,946 TEUs in December 2008, an 8.7 percent increase and the first gain since December 2007. Imports totaled 232,586 TEUs, up 13 percent; exports were up 31 percent to 123,084 TEUs; empty containers shipped overseas were 111,567, down 15 percent.
   'These numbers are far better than expected, and may very well be the first signs of an economic recovery,' said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Richard D. Steinke. 'That's great news for our region and the nation. We are cautiously optimistic that this marks the beginning of an ongoing, upward trend.'
   In total for 2009, Long Beach shipping terminals moved 5.1 million TEUs, the weakest year since 2003 and a nearly 22 percent decline from 2008.