Ports' cargo flow slows after October spike. (Up Front).Both the ports of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. and Long Beach had record-breaking CARGO movement last month, the result of early holiday optimism by retailers long before the Sept. 11 attacks. But movement this month has slowed and a further decline is expected through early 2002. "All this Christmas stuff was ordered six months ago. That's why it has stayed strong," said Jeff Coppersmith, president of Coppersmith Inc., an El Segundo El Segundo (ĕl sēgŭn`dō), industrial city (1990 pop. 15,223), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1917. Its products include navigation and computer systems, aircraft parts, office machines, telephone apparatus, and customs broker Customs Broker An individual or firm licensed by customs authorities to enter and clear imported goods through customs. The broker represents the importer in dealings with the customs authorities. and freight fowarder. Since items are ordered weeks or months before they are shipped, Coppersmith predicted that business at the ports wouldn't drop off until early next year. In October, traditionally a busy month for ports because of holiday merchandise shipments, Los Angeles moved 505,020 cargo containers, a 4.9 percent jump over the like year-earlier period. Long Beach shipped through 434,866 containers, a 0.5 percent increase from October 2000. Before Sept. 11, retailers had been relatively optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op about holiday sales -- expecting them to be similar to last year -- and ordered accordingly. Much of the freight began to move through the ports in October. "In August, September and October our numbers were pretty close to what they were last year," said port spokesman Art Wong. "Retailers were thinking consumers were going to spend something close to what they were spending a year ago. Obviously, that's changed." In some ways, the attacks may have caused a short-term boost for the shipping industry. Tougher security and restrictions for air freight air freight n → flete m por avión air freight n → fret aérien air freight air n → Luftfracht f has led some retailers to switch to shipping by sea, said W. Guy Fox, chairman of Global Transportation Services Inc., a customs broker and freight forwarder An individual who, as a regular business, assembles and combines small shipments into one lot and takes the responsibility for the transportation of such property from the place of receipt to the place of destination. in Redondo Beach Redondo Beach (rĭdŏn`dō), city (1990 pop. 60,167), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1892. Once a commercial port for Los Angeles, it is a residential and resort city with a protected harbor and an excellent marina. . "After Sept. 11 there was practically no air freight at all coming into the U.S. so there was a tremendous backlog," he said. "(Shipping by sea) means a lot longer wait but what are you going to do, have it sit in the airport for two weeks or are you going to have it sit on a vessel for two weeks and get here?" Global Transportation saw a 70 percent decrease in air freight shipments in October but sea freight shipments were up about 10 or 15 percent, Fox said. Smaller air freight shipments can be combined into a large sea freight shipment. Staff reporter Amanda Bronstad can be reached at (323) 549-5225 ext. 225 or at abronstad@labusinessjournal.com. |
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