Container handling through west coast U.S. ports rose 3% in May vs. a 4% increase in the prior three months. The slowdown was driven by import growth of just 2% vs. 4% previously. There was also a shift in fortunes between north and south with Long Beach’s imports rising 7% from 17% while Seattle / Tacoma did better with a 2% rise vs. a 4% decline. Overall growth remains lackluster and at risk from the emerging tariff battle between the U.S. and China, the latter of which accounted for 59% of west-coast inbound volumes in the past year. Slow traffic growth and rising risks may be the rea...