January Export Container Volume at LA/LB Ports Surged, but Total TEUs Down

The total number of containers handled by the ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach during January 2008 was down by 8.5% to 1.17 million TEUs.  Thus the year started out the way 2007 ended at the local ports: imports down but exports up.  Import containers handled at Los Angeles/Long Beach were down by 8.8% over the year to January, while export container volume rose by 18.9%.  The number of empty containers handled dropped by 22.7% to 298,855 TEUs over the year. (Jack Kyser)

Port of Long Beach: http://polb.com/economics/stats/latest_teus.asp
Port of Los Angeles:  http://portoflosangeles.org/factsfigures_Monthly.htm

 

U.S. Retail Sales Mixed in January

January was a pretty good month in some parts of the retail world and not in others.  Retail and food services sales were up by 0.3% last month, following a revised decline of -0.4% in December.  Seven of thirteen retail sector reported higher sales in January.  Leading the parade were sales of gasoline stations (up by 2.0%, mostly due to higher prices), apparel & accessories stores, up by 1.4%, and sales of miscellaneous store retailers (up by 1.0%).  Not far behind, were sales of health & personal care stores (+0.8% over the month), motor vehicle dealers (+0.7%), and food & beverage stores (+0.6%).  Five sectors reported over-the-month sales declines:  building material & garden equipment & supplies dealers (down by -1.7%), sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores (-1.3%), electronics & appliance stores (-1.0%), furniture & home furnishings stores (-0.5%), and food services & drinking places (also -0.5%).  Within the thirteenth sector, general merchandise, sales of traditional department stores were down by -1.1%, while sales of other general merchandisers (including warehouse clubs & supercenters) increased by 0.7%.

Year-to-date comparisons are not seasonally adjusted.  Total retail & food services sales increased by 4.6% compared to January 2007, and were up by 5.7% excluding automotive.  Eight of thirteen retail sectors reported higher sales over the year.  Gasoline stations were the growth leaders, with sales up by +23.5% over the year due to higher prices.  Nonstore retailers (mostly online shopping and catalog mail order houses) occupied the number two spot (with sales up by +12.4%), and food & beverage stores were number three (sales up by +6.7%).  Sales of four retail sectors lagged significantly in January:  building material & garden equipment & supplies dealers (down by -5.8% over the year), furniture & home furnishings stores (-4.3%), electronics & appliance stores (-1.9%), and sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores (with a -1.0% decline).  Again, the general merchandise sector was split, with department store sales down by -4.5% over the year while the remainder of the sector was up by 7.7%.   (Nancy D. Sidhu)

PR:  http://www.census.gov/svsd/www/marts_current.pdf

 

2007 Strong Year for Bay Area Hotels

Bay area hotels ended the year in a solid fashion according to PKF Consulting.  In San Francisco, the occupancy rate was 65.3% compared with 62.4% a year ago.  The average daily room rate (ADR) moved ahead by a modest 2.6% to $157.17.  For the year 2007, the occupancy rate was a strong 77.9% compared with 75.6% in 2006.  The ADR averaged $182.28, up by 7.1% over 2006.
In San Jose/Peninsula, the December occupancy rate was 54.2% compared with 52.5% a year ago.  The ADR rose by 7.9% to $130.84.  For the year 2007, the occupancy rate averaged 70.7% versus 68.2% in 2006.  The average ADR for the year rose by 8.6% to $137.70.  (Jack Kyser) 

 

Total State Exports Up in December and for the Year

California led the nation in total exports ($12.7 billion) In December using the Bureau of Economic Analysis' (BEA) U.S. Principal Parties of Interest (USPPI) series.  Texas had the second highest total export value for the month ($11.7 billion).  Year-over-year, California's total exports increased by +9.5% while Texas' total exports increased by +12.8%.  In the area of manufactured exports, Texas edged out California with $9.5 billion versus $8.9 billion (year-over-year increases of +10.1% and +7.2% respectively).  For the 12 months of 2007, total California exports increased by +7.9% (to $142.6 billion) compared with the 12 months of 2006.

Using BEA's Origin of Movement (OM) series, Texas led the nation in December with $14.4 billion in total exports, ahead of California ($12.0 billion).  Texas' total exports increased by +10.6% from December 2006, while California's total exports increased by +5.0% over the same period. California’s export of manufactured goods increased by +5.2% from a year earlier (to $8.5 billion), while Texas’ manufactured exports increased by +8.9% (to $11.7 billion) over the same period.  For the 12 months of 2007, California exports (OM series) increased by +5.0% (to $134.2 billion) compared to the 12 months of 2006.

California’s exports of non-manufactured goods (e.g., agricultural and recyclable waste products) grew at a faster rate than manufactured goods during the 12 months of 2007.  Using USPPI terms, the state’s non-manufactured exports surged by +17.1% (to $16.2 billion) compared to 2006.  Using the OM series, exports of California’s non-manufactured products jumped by +15.9% (to $14.0 billion) compared to 2006.

The USPPI measure allocates export trade value according to the location of companies having the greatest economic interest in an international transaction, while OM measures trade values at the point where international shipments begin, often at consolidation points near border crossings or other ports of exit.  With its long border with Mexico, Texas is home to numerous international border crossings and warehousing facilities, as well as major rail links between the United States and Mexico.  Industry observers believe that many shipments originating in other states (including California) are credited as Texas exports to Mexico under the OM state export series.  (Eduardo J. Martinez)

State export (OM):
http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-Release/current_press_release/exh2s.txt
State export (USSPI): http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/state/zip/index.html