International Trade in Los Angeles Has Bright Future
Cargo coming through the various ports in Los Angeles plummeted 20 percent in 2009. But it’s a different story this year.
Two-way international-trade volume arriving by plane and container ships is expected to be up as much as 9 percent in 2010 to $308.5 billion. At the same time, the number of containers moving through the Los Angeles/Long Beach port complex should be up 10.2 percent this year to 13 million.
“The global economic downturn was a huge problem in 2009, as the economies of four of the Los Angeles Customs District’s top five trading partners dropped into recession,” said Nancy Sidhu, the chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., which released its “International Trade: Trends & Impacts” report on May 12. Southern California’s top five trading partners are China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
The Port of Los Angeles remained the nation’s top port last year, with 6.7 million containers passing through its terminal gates, followed by the Port of Long Beach, with 5.1 million containers, and the New York/Newark port area, with 4.6 million containers.
Last year, computers, electronic goods and car parts were the top three commodities arriving from overseas to the Los Angeles area, with apparel coming in fourth, with a value of $12.8 billion.—Deborah Belgum
