New York-New Jersey Imports Rise 5.2 Percent

Export volume shrank 1.9 percent from the same month a year ago, the second consecutive month of year-over-year declines. Although traffic fell 2.1 percent from October to November at East Coast's largest port, import volume rose 0.9 percent during the same period.

Containers lifted via rail in November rose 1.2 percent year-over-year and fell 12 percent from October.

Container traffic in the first 11 months of 2011 rose 5 percent year-over-year. Imports rose 4 percent and exports jumped 6.7 percent in the same period.

Monthly container traffic has expanded in nine of the first 11 months of 2011, according to port statistics. Import volume, which makes up about two-thirds of the port's traffic, has expanded in eight of the first 11 months in November, stayed flat in August, and contracted in July and October.

The Journal of Commerce Online