Cargo volume at nation's ports down 7.1 percent

   Year-over-year cargo volume at the nation's major retail container ports, including the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, fell for the 17th straight month in December, completing the slowest year since 2004, according to the monthly Port Tracker report released Thursday by the National Retail Federation and IHS Global Insight.

   Volume for the year was estimated at 15.3 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units, compared with 16.5 million TEU in 2007, a decline of 7.1 percent.

   "Between the economy and the customary winter impact of the slow season, port traffic is very weak," IHS Global Insight economist Paul Bingham said. "Port traffic is projected to continue to be very slow due to the underlying weakness in demand."

   All U.S. ports covered by Port Tracker -- Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston and Savannah on the East Coast, and Houston on the Gulf Coast -- are rated "low" for congestion.

   Information: (202) 783-7971 or www.nrf.com/PortTracker