Port activity is flat

May was a routine month at the Port of Los Angeles.

Traffic was up only .8 percent compared with May 2014, as workers handled the equivalent of nearly 695,000 20-foot containers, the port industry’s standard measuring stick, according to data released Monday.

That minor increase was due mostly to an eight percent year-over-year increase in empty containers that were shipped through ports, mostly back to Asia for filling, said Phillip Sanfield, port spokesman.

The recent increase in the dollar’s value internationally has caused the Asian market to look elsewhere for certain goods, particularly recycled paper, and that has hurt U.S. exports, Sanfield said.

However, the May number is no reason for alarm.

“We’re comparing to 2014, and 2014 was a very strong year,” Sanfield said. “I wouldn’t worry about it.”