September 16 - Container cargo shipments at the Port of Long Beach declined by 9.1 percent year-on-year in August at 573,083 teus.
The port says that these figures reflect both early shipping by importers this year and the comparison to an August last year that was the port's busiest month since 2007.
Imports dropped 8.2 percent to 300,851 teus, while exports declined 17.7 percent to 126,856 teus.
The August downturn followed a surge in Long Beach from April through June 2014, when retailers shipped their products early ahead of the expiration of the longshore contract at the end of June.
The Port of Long Beach suggests that last year's August was very busy and started off the typical August through October "peak season" and that season may have occurred earlier this year.
