Prices per barrel have hovered above $100 in recent weeks amid unrest in the Middle East, dragging down an already anemic recovery and crushing profit margins for many large shipping companies.
Despite the uncertainty, imports in Long Beach were up 11.3 percent in January from the same time in 2010, while exports increased 12.7 percent.
Houston, which has been positioning itself as a less-regulated, more “business-friendly” seaport than Long Beach-Los Angeles in recent years, watched as volumes plummeted 17.9 percent.