Cargo movement through the nation’s busiest seaport complex increased a little more than 1% in May compared with the same month last year, port officials said Tuesday. But experts said it wasn’t clear whether the figures were a sign of more traditional international trade patterns this year or a hint of weakness in the overall economic recovery.
“The fact that the numbers are up over a very strong 2010 is a good sign,” said John Husing, whose Redlands firm, Economics & Politics, tracks international trade’s effects on the Inland Empire.
“But it might speak to some unexpected slowing,” he said. “There’s a possible Japan effect in the numbers, but it’s possible we’re also seeing a general weakness in the U.S. economy, and that would be very scary.”