---
title: "US Trade Gap Narrows as West Coast ports revive access"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/cc221c65-9363-420d-a8f9-35bba3eb4fc6
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/us-trade-gap-narrows-as-west-coast-ports-revive-access-1462
category: "General"
published: 2015-04-09T20:15:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T04:11:57.544Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/a18bfc11c5b22a9290a5c71252dda1d71596.jpg
---

# US Trade Gap Narrows as West Coast ports revive access

**TL;DR:** The U.S. trade gap is at its lowest level in more than five years, with the trade deficit narrowing to $35.44 billion in February. The West Coast ports, which facilitate nearly half of all U.S. cargo, came to a near halt due to a labor dispute, but have since resumed operations, albeit with a slow uptake in shipping.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2015-04-09. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/us-trade-gap-narrows-as-west-coast-ports-revive-access-1462).*

## Story

According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. trade gap is at its lowest level in more than five years. The Commerce Department released a report stating the trade deficit narrowed to $35.44 billion in February after a labor dispute erupted which tied up goods in the West Coast.

In total, exports decreased 1.6 percent from January to $186.25 billion, while imports decreased 4.4 percent to $221.69 billion – the largest drop in imports since the recession ended in 2009.

The West Coast ports facilitate nearly half of all U.S. cargo and came to a near halt due to employers and dock workers negotiating a new contract. The two sides reached a settlement in February and economists expected trade flows to bounce back, but the uptake in shipping has been slow.

“While an agreement has been reached, the slowdown has created a significant backlog and the reality is we are still waiting for many containers to be unloaded at the port,” Julie Whalen, chief financial officer at Williams-Sonoma Inc., told investors last month.

For companies who require goods from other parts of the world or ship their products out, this can mean a standstill in sales.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- General (sector)
- United States (location)
- Commerce Department (regulator)
- labor dispute (topic)
- West Coast ports (location)
- trade gap (topic)
- west coast ports (topic)
- trade deficit (topic)
- cargo shipping (topic)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/us-trade-gap-narrows-as-west-coast-ports-revive-access-1462). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/cc221c65-9363-420d-a8f9-35bba3eb4fc6).