Imports Up 5% in April at Long Beach Port

Imports at the Port of Long Beach were up 5% in April as retailers readied inventory for the summer sales season, port officials said. April’s mark of roughly 182,000 inbound cargo containers was the highest for any month so far this year, and was about 5% over the previous high in February. Port trade analyst Matt Plezia said that despite the high number, port officials had been expecting greater inbound volume as importers rushed to bring in goods before a May 1 shipping rate hike. Meantime, exports in April continued to feel the effects of the Asian economic crisis, dropping about 12% from last year. At 77,040 containers, outbound cargo logged its lowest level of the year. The Long Beach numbers nearly matched the April figures from the Port of Los Angeles.