[Paladin2]

So, is southern West Coast incoming shipping container volume a leading or trailing economic indicator?

[Justa]

"Containerized imports at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles fell 22.3 percent in June...."

"Exports were also weak, with loaded exported TEUs down 28.8 percent...."

In very general terms imports are trailing indicators and exports are leading indicators.

[02slider]

Leading - along with FedEx and UPS

[Vince Ferrer]

So, is southern West Coast incoming shipping container volume a leading or trailing economic indicator?

Dry bulk shipping is definitely a leading indicator, and oil can probably be a leading indicator, but containers I am going to have to call a trailing indicator.

This low peak season is not a surprise, it was actually called by the retailers themselves right after Christmas. Orders for next Christmas generally take place just after Christmas. What retailers predicted last year was that there still would be a recession, and that they would still have inventory so there is no need to stock up much. The retailers who will survive this year may not be the ones that sell the most, but the ones who stocked up the least, and had some good sales.