by Calculated Risk on 11/12/2018 02:43:00 PM

From the Port of Long Beach: October Cargo Strong in Long Beach

For the second consecutive year, the Port of Long Beach has broken its October record for cargo, as volumes rose 5.4 percent compared to the same month in 2017. October 2018 was also the third-busiest month in the Port’s 107-year history.

Marine terminals handled 705,408 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of container cargo in October. Inbound containers increased 7.4 percent, to 364,084 TEUs. Export TEUs totaled 119,837 TEUs, a 5 percent decline. Empty containers shipped overseas grew 8.5 percent, to 221,487 TEUs.

Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero said the results illustrate the evolving effects of the U.S.-China trade war.

“Our higher import volumes suggest some retailers expect U.S. consumers will be big spenders this holiday season,” said Cordero. “Other importers are rushing shipments to beat escalating tariffs. At the same time, the trade war has clearly slowed American exports to China.”
emphasis added

Imports are up, exports are down.   I'll post a graph once the Port of Los Angeles reports October traffic.