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December was the best month by far for the Port of Los Angeles last year. The number of imported and exported 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) increased 0.4 percent to 562,990 compared with December 2008 volume — the port’s only monthly gain in the entire calendar year.

Loaded export containers jumped 40.2 percent to 153,836 TEUs, “fueling more speculation that international container trade will start to recover in 2010,” port officials said in a prepared statement.

“We are cautiously optimistic about 2010, hoping that consumer confidence will start improving inbound volumes and the market recovery overseas will continue to drive our export volumes,” said Executive Director Geraldine Knatz.

For the full year, container volume decreased 14 percent primarily because of the global recession and a lack of consumer spending, particularly in the United States, port officials said.

The L.A. port is the nation’s largest in terms of container volume and cargo value.