Total imports and exports handled by longshore workers at the Port of Los Angeles fell slightly in 2012 compared with the previous year, according to data provided by the port.
The drop punctuated a year in which the country was recovering from the recession and during which the ports faced their largest strike in a decade.
The nation’s busiest port processed roughly 6.14 million loaded 20-foot container equivalents – a metric used worldwide by the maritime industry – during 2012. In 2011, the port handled 6.18 loaded containers for import and export.