Robust U.S. Economy Fuels Rise in Imports, Exports at Port of Long Beach

A continuing buoyant U.S. economy helped boost import levels by 31% over a year ago at the Port of Long Beach, officials said Monday. Exports also grew at the nation’s busiest port.

Long Beach Harbor in February handled 172,482 cargo containers loaded with electronic equipment, appliances and other durable goods as retailers continued to stock their shelves with Asian products priced inexpensively because of the region’s currency devaluations. In the same period a year ago, the port took in 40,000 fewer export containers. February imports rose 2% over January.

“Americans are very confident of the economic situation right now,” said Hal Hilliard, the port’s marketing manager. “People are continuing to buy things like gangbusters.”

The neighboring Port of Los Angeles also posted a sharp increase in inbound cargo last month, and officials attributed the spike to importers looking to build up their inventories before an anticipated hike in shipping costs takes effect in May.

Hilliard, however, said the feared hike, which is expected to boost costs by about $450 for every 20-foot container moved, had little to do with Long Beach’s numbers. He said whatever importers saved by shipping summer inventories now would be lost to increased storage fees and taxes to warehouse the larger amounts of goods.

Meanwhile, exports in February grew 4% over last year, and 3% over January, in what Hilliard said reflected positive changes in the Asian economies, especially South Korea and Taiwan.

Particularly hot exports in February were wastepaper and scrap metal, Hilliard said. “[Asian nations’] inventories are running low on the raw material they need to manufacture the stuff to send back to us,” he said.