Business at the nation’s leading container ports is picking up, perhaps a sign the general economy may be in better shape than some suggest.
As a group, loaded container volumes at the nation’s top 10 ports notched a 14 percent increase in January 2016, compared with the year-ago period, according to figures compiled by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Also, port data for February look encouraging and cargo rail traffic volume grew slightly last month.
The strong dollar helped drive imports sharply higher at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, and the two delivered their busiest February volumes ever. Together, the two Southern California ports make up about a third of all cargo traffic imported into U.S. ports and are sometimes considered a predictive indicator of the economy.
