by Calculated Risk on 12/17/2010 10:17:00 PM

Notes: this data is not seasonally adjusted. LA area ports handle about 40% of the nation's container port traffic.

The following graph shows the loaded inbound and outbound traffic at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in TEUs (TEUs: 20-foot equivalent units or 20-foot-long cargo container). Although containers tell us nothing about value, container traffic does give us an idea of the volume of goods being exported and imported - and possible hints about the trade report for November.

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

There is a strong seasonal pattern for loaded inbound traffic, and traffic was up about 15% compared to November 2009.

After stalling out over the summer, loaded outbound traffic is up sharply over the last two months, and was up 19% YoY from November 2009.

This suggests that the trade deficit with China (and other Asian countries) might have declined somewhat in November (seasonally adjusted).