Note: this is not seasonally adjusted. There is a very distinct seasonal pattern for imports, but not for exports. Sometimes port traffic gives us an early hint of changes in the trade deficit. The following graph shows the loaded inbound and outbound traffic at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in TEUs (TEUs: 20-foot equivalent units or 20-foot-long cargo container). Although containers tell us nothing about value, container traffic does give us an idea of the volume of goods being exported and imported. Click on graph for larger image in new window. Loaded inbound traffic was 14.7% below October 2008. Loaded outbound traffic was 1.0% above October 2008. There was a clear recovery in U.S. exports earlier this year; however exports have been mostly flat since May.

Read more here – LA Area Port Traffic in October