Exports through California's sea and airports during October increased from the previous month but remain well under those of October 2008, a University of California analysis of monthly trade data concludes.
"While still in serious condition, the patient's health is gradually improving," Jock O'Connell, a trade advisor to UC's Sacramento Center, said. "During the spring and early summer of this year, California's export trade had been off as much as twenty-five percent from the preceding year."
The state's merchandise exports in October totaled just over $11.08 billion, up 7 percent from September but still 10.9 percent below the $12.44 billion in goods the state shipped abroad in October 2010.
October was the 12th consecutive month in which California posted lower year-to-year export totals. It was also the lowest October total since 2005.
O'Connell said the latest data indicate that Northern California ports are continuing to improve faster that those in Southern California.
The number of loaded shipping containers leaving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in October was up by 1.0 percent from last year, while those from the Port of Oakland were ahead of last October's numbers by 17.2 percent. The leading maritime exports have been goods of relatively low value such as scrap metal and waste paper.
For 2009 through Octrober, exports totaled $97.6 billion, down 21.1 percent compared to the first nine months of 2008, when the state's exports amounted to $123.7 billion.
Data were also bleak on the on the import side of the ledger in October. The UC Center Sacramento analysis of Commerce Department data found that $32.2 billion in foreign goods entered the U.S. through California, a drop of 18.1 percent from the $39.3 billion reported in October of last year.
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