January imports up nearly 9 percent, exports up 28%

After closing 2009 with the first increases in monthly container cargo numbers in two years, the Port of Long Beach on Tuesday reported a continued uptrend in trade for January.

Imported cargo increased by nearly 9 percent in the first month of 2010 compared to the same period last year. Exports were up by 28 percent. In December, the Port saw the end of a downtrend in trade numbers that began in late 2007.

Imported cargo, generally consumer goods, rose to 217,925 twenty-foot equivalent container units, or TEUs, in January, a 8.6 percent gain compared to the same period a year ago. Exports, generally raw materials, rose 27.9 percent to 113,183 TEUs. The number of empty containers, most sent overseas to be refilled with products, declined by 11.3 percent to 97,697 TEUs.

Overall, shipping terminals at the Port moved 428,805 TEUs in January compared to 399,295 TEUs a year ago, a 7.4 percent increase and a second straight month of gains.