Sluggish port traffic for August

This could be another indication that U.S. retailers are cautious about the holiday season. Inbound traffic at the Port of Los Angeles fell 4.1 percent in August compared with a year earlier, while outbound traffic fell 10.5 percent. The outbound drop is an indication of slow economic growth around the world. (The Port of Long Beach is not yet out with its figures for August, though its traffic has been down much of the year.)