Port of LA Imports and Exports Up in June, Other Indicators Not as Rosy
July 19, 2010
Imports into the Port of Los Angeles were up 32 percent last month, compared to June 2009, and exports also finished strong, up about 12 percent over the same period last year. In addition, the Port of Los Angeles website reports that for June 2010:The ...
Imports into the Port of Los Angeles were up 32 percent last month, compared to June 2009, and exports also finished strong, up about 12 percent over the same period last year.
While these headlines from the Port of Los Angeles are certainly encouraging, I suppose the one question we all want the answer to is this: Will this upward trend persist?
Just last week, other economic reports revealed that both consumer spending and manufacturing activity lost momentum last month, indicating a weakening recovery. In particular, factory output fell off in June, suffering its sharpest monthly drop in a year.
Most analysts that I'm hearing seem to agree with Brian Bethune, chief U.S. financial economist for IHS Global Insight, who was quoted in a recent AP article. Bethune acknowledges that the "healing process from a severe recession is still under way," but that it's unlikely we're going to bounce back on a sustained basis quickly.
Once again, taken altogether, the economic data is quite a mixed bag, suggesting that finding our way out of the downturn is going to be bumpy, at best.