Imports Flat at Long Beach Port

Import growth was relatively flat last month at the Port of Long Beach, the nation’s second-busiest commercial harbor, compared with unusually strong inbound cargo volume the previous November, port officials said Tuesday.

November typically marks the beginning of a slowdown in import cargo following the traditional holiday merchandise shipping crunch. But last year, port trade analyst Matt Plezia said, concern over possible Y2K computer glitches prompted retailers to shore up inventories late in the year to avoid potential disruptions in their distribution channels.

As a result, Plezia said, last month’s imports were up only 1.7% over the previous November, to about 213,000 20-foot-long shipping containers, from about 209,000 in the year-ago period.

Exports also were flat, dropping a half-percent to 90,756 containers from 91,201. Plezia noted that November’s exports outpaced all but three months of this year so far.

Neighboring Port of Los Angeles, the nation’s No. 1 harbor, said last week that November imports rose 14% over the year-ago period. Exports from Los Angeles were 13% higher.