by Calculated Risk on 1/18/2011 09:05:00 PM

The following graph shows the rolling 12 month average of 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 December. LA area ports handle about 40% of the nation's container port traffic.

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

Since there is a strong seasonal component for inbound traffic, this graph shows the rolling 12 month average.

On a rolling 12 month basis, inbound traffic is up 17% and outbound up 13%.

The 2nd graph is the monthly data (with strong seasonal pattern).

For the month of December, loaded inbound traffic was up 7.8% compared to December 2009, and loaded outbound traffic was up 9.3% compared to December 2009. This suggests that the trade deficit with China (and other Asian countries) might have declined somewhat in December (seasonally adjusted).

For outbound traffic, 2010 was the 2nd highest year ever behind 2008. For inbound traffic, 2010 was the 5th highest behind 2005 through 2008.