Port traffic climbs

Imports coming into the Port of L.A. jumped 21 percent in July, the strongest month in two years. At the Port of Long Beach, imports were up 33 percent, the best showing since October 2008. Normally, this would be a bullish sign for the fall holiday season, but the National Retail Federation said volume was being driven in part by restocking, along with concerns about finding space on a shrinking number of cargo ships. Sales expectations remain modest. In fact, the Federation says that July would be the top month for container traffic. Exports, meanwhile, showed percentage gains from a year earlier, but L.A. only had a 6 percent increase. There's concern that the jump in exports late last year and into 2010 is slowing down, in part because the world economy is slowing down.