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Container traffic at the Port of Long Beach dropped 13 percent in April compared with the same period a year ago, due in part to the elimination of several niche service lines and a continued caution in the world economy, according to a press release.

Last month, port terminals handled 461,911 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) compared with 531,090 in April 2011. Imports were down 13.8 percent year over year to 232,963 TEUs and exports were down 16.2 percent to 120,452 TEUs.

And, after an increase in March, cargo volumes dropped last month. Year to date, container volumes at the port are down 5.8 percent compared with the first four months of 2011.

However, port officials believe traffic will pick up throughout the remainder of the year. Analysts are predicting modest trade growth in 2012, and later this month, the port will open three new lines of vessels from Asia that are expected to collectively add as many as 500,000 TEUs by year’s end.