Six percent decline in annual container volumes?

September 16, 2008 by SwizStick  
Filed under Supply Chain Management

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So says the latest Port Tracker report. Via Logistics Management:

This month’s Port Tracker report indicates that cargo volume at the nation’s major retail ports is projected to decrease 6 percent in 2008—at 15.5 million twenty-foot equivalents (TEU) for the year—compared to 2007’s 16.5 million TEU. This exceeds the decline projected in last month’s report, which suggested that yearly volumes would be off by four percent.

No surprise, really. With retail demand sluggish and not expected to improve any time soon, retailers (as the article points out) are simply cutting back on inventory. The latest monthly figures posted at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles show a -7.3% and -6.13% year-to-date decline in containers handled.

Lower container volumes = less work for ILWU

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