Cars and cigarettes top Japan-L.A. exchange list: trade pattern 'increasingly looks like that of a colony.'

Cars and cigarettes top Japan-L.A. exchange list

Trade pattern |increasingly looks like that of a colony'

We ship cigarettes and coal to the Japanese. They send us cars and cement.

Those were the leading goods, measured by value or weight, traded in 1989 between the Port of Los Angeles and its most significant trading partner, Japan. The information comes from a port survey of goods shipped that year, the most recent one for which full data is available.

The results indicate which products and which nations are creating the greatest trade opportunities for Los Angeles County businesses, where thousands earn their living as freight-forwarders, brokers, truckers and the like.

L.A.'s top trading partners were all Asian countries. Japan was first, followed by Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia. Those Asian nations captured more than 63 percent of the port's total 1989 trade.

The trading patterns don't fit the traditional global image trade, where raw materials are exported from the Third World to the highly industrialized nations, and finished goods are loaded up for the return trip.

At the Port of L.A., mostly semi-finished and finished goods arrived on ships from our biggest trade partners in the Orient, while the ships were loaded up with raw materials to leave American shores.

"Our trade pattern increasingly looks like that of a colony," commented Dr. Selwyn Enzer, research fellow at USC's International Business Education and Research Program. "There's a whole host of reasons," he said.

American dependence on raw materials, with the exception of oil, has declined over recent years, said Enzer. Further, many goods from foreign ports are, in fact, manufactured at American offshore plants.

The port, situated in the San Pedro area of Los Angeles, is a pillar of the Southland economy. In 1989, it ranked No. 1 among West Coast ports in both tons (24.7 million) and cargo value ($55 billion), according to port figures.

In terms of cargo value, top-ranking products from L.A.'s biggest trading partners were:

* Vehicles shipped from Japan, valued at $2.2 billion.

* Vehicle parts from Japan, $676 million.

* TVs from Japan, $660 million.

* Leather footwear from South Korea, $549 million.

In terms of weight, leading imports included:

* Cement from Japan, 961,000 tons.

* Lubricating oils from Thailand, 741,000 tons.

* Crude petroleum from Indonesia, 431,000 tons.

* Vehicle parts from Japan, 410,000 tons.

Leading exports from the Port of L.A. in terms of cargo value were:

* Cigarettes shipped to Japan valued at $342 million.

* Cotton to Japan, $208 million.

* Meat to Japan, $165 million.

* Vehicles to Taiwan, $148 million.

By weight, the top exports were:

* Bituminous coal to Japan, 1.1 million tons.

* Fuel oils to Taiwan, 551,000 tons.

* Ferrous waste and scrap to South Korea, 543,000 tons.

* Borates to the Netherlands, 368,000 tons.

According to the survey, the Port of L.A. posted the largest weight increase, up 12.5 million tons, and highest cargo-value gain, up $39.6 billion, among West Coast ports.

In 1989 and 1988, imports comprised 55 percent of the L.A. port's foreign trade, while exports accounted for 45 percent.