LONG BEACH SEES STEADY TRAFFIC IN MARCH

LONG BEACH SEES STEADY TRAFFIC IN MARCH    The Port of Long Beach, Calif, said container traffic rose 2.7 percent year-over-year in March, confirming that trade with Asia is holding up despite a slowing U.S. economy. The Port of Los Angeles reported last week that container traffic rose 12 percent year-over-year in March.
   The month-to-month improvement at Long Beach was significant, with container volume jumping 15.6 percent to 360,279 TEUs in March from February.
   “The recovery in March suggests that the low numbers in February were due more to the Chinese New Year than to a softening of the U.S. economy,” said Don Wylie, managing director of maritime services at Long Beach.
   Import traffic increased 9.6 percent year-over-year to 195,605 TEUs. Exports, however, fell 13.8 percent to 84,349 TEUs. Even with such a steep year-to-year drop, exports actually gained 11.7 percent from February volumes, reflecting how depressed the U.S. export climate is so far this year.
   Long Beach’s primary exports are plastics, chemicals, recycled paper and cotton. The port's primary imports are consumer goods, such as clothing and toys.