The Port of Long Beach and Los Angeles are beginning to see slow recovery after a dismal year in 2009. A recent Los Angeles Times article reports that January saw a 1.6% traffic increase at the two ports after a 17.4% drop over the course of 2009.
So while the recession-ravaged ports are not yet back to full steam, recent small increases in December and January could be signals that the worst is over. But it will likely be a slow recovery process for both ports.
Combined, the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are the busiest in the nation, so the number of goods moving in and out each day are viewed as accurate indicators of how America’s economy is doing as a whole – “…a bellwether for the strength of the U.S. economy,” says the Times‘ Ronald D. White.
Are meager successes at the ports signaling a national economic turnaround?