The number of containers (TEUs) that arrived loaded but were returned empty from the Port of Los Angeles during January 2013 is 178171*. That is 53 percent of all inbound containers are returned empty.
As I have said before, those containers are not really empty:
Shippers attempt to fill containers on their return journey, even at super-low rates, in order to offset the cost of completing the round-trip. Empty containers indicate failure to locate manufactured goods that can compete in these export markets. This affects not only the shipper, but the entire economy. Those containers leaving the West Coast are not really empty. They contain something far more valuable than the goods being imported. They contain manufacturing jobs — and the infrastructure, skills and know-how to support them.
In 2011, when President Obama announced his jobs program, empty outbound containers were running at 48 percent.
* 337,428 loaded inbound minus 159,257 loaded outbound
Correction to earlier email: Figures are for the month of January 2013 and not the financial year.