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Container traffic through California's Port of Los Angeles slumped 12.3 percent in June, compared to the same month last year, when cargo was booming as the economy recovered, reported Dow Jones Newswires.
A total of 640,794 cargo containers were shipped in an out of the Los Angeles port last month. In June 2010, 730,317 containers moved through the port, up nearly 33 percent from recessionary 2009 levels.
The nearby Port of Long Beach reported that it handled 554,269 containers last month, up 6.6 percent from the year-ago period. Long Beach's total container traffic climbed about 26 percent in June 2010, compared to June 2009.
The two big West Coast ports account for about 40 percent of US inbound container traffic, loaded mainly with consumer products and other imports from Asia.
At the Los Angeles port, imports were off 10.2 percent last month after climbing 32.3 percent in June 2010. The Long Beach port said imports were up 3.5 percent last month, after climbing 27 percent in June 2010.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles port reported a nearly 30 percent drop last month in the number of empty containers being returned to Asia, compared to the year-ago period, a figure that dragged down its overall statistics. Empty containers handled by Long Beach were up 10.3 percent.
Cargonews Asia
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