Scary Indicators Told By US West Coast Import/Export Traffic

The following was posted on Calculatedrisk, West Coast Ports: Export Traffic Falls to 2006 Levels

• Inbound traffic has peaked for the year as retailers have already imported most of the goods for the holiday season. Inbound traffic was 11% below last November. This slowdown in exports (inbound traffic to the U.S.) is hitting Asian countries hard.
  
  But even more concerning for the U.S. is that export traffic is declining sharply. For the LA area ports, outbound traffic continued to decline in November, and was 18% below the level of November 2007. Export traffic is now at about the same level as in late 2006. So much for the export boom!

You need to see the chart posted in that article here

Yes, it's pretty darn scary.

And with the decline in export and import traffic, it's not a mystery why the global shipping index has plunged way deep. ( see other articles posted here )

And with the decline in export and import traffic, how can one be optimistic now about the recovery in global trade?

And when the global trade don't improve, how could the economy improve?

And when the economy don't improve, how will the financial markets improve?