PORT LONG BEACH DOWN 7% FOR AUGUST

PORT LONG BEACH DOWN 7% FOR AUGUST    The port of Long Beach moved 405,862 TEUs in August, down 7 percent on August last year.
   The decrease is the fourth consecutive monthly fall in traffic at the Californian port. The port of Long Beach cited “the weakness of economies around the world.”
   Imports declined 6.5 percent from the same month a year ago. Exports, largely raw materials shipped to Asian manufacturers, fell 3.2 percent. Empties, nearly all of them headed to Asia to be refilled with cargo for the United States, decreased by 9.6 percent.
   For the first seven months of the year, the port’s throughput totaled 2.9 million TEUs, down 3.6 percent from the same period of last year.
   However, the port of Long Beach said August saw the highest monthly volume this year.
   It said that this is an indication that holiday shipments have begun moving through the port. “The port’s peak shipping season typically is the August-through-October period, when retailers stock their shelves with holiday clothing, toys and other merchandise imported from Asia,” a port spokesman said.