Last year, the crush of holiday goods hit the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach as early as May, moving up the ports’ peak season by about three months.

This year, all bets are off.

Surging apparel imports from China and a general rise in port traffic are raising concerns that the ports could again jam up sooner and in bigger numbers than in previous years. Then again, traffic could keep moving if the federal government clamps down on the apparel imports as some expect.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty,” admitted Beth Keck, director of international corporate affairs for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., one of the biggest importers at the ports.

Hedging their bets, some importers are already taking steps to bypass the congested ports by directing traffic elsewhere, while some are even exploring sourcing materials from non-Asian countries that don’t use the ports.

The peak season traditionally has spanned from August to mid-October, when retailers bring in their holiday goods. But last year, fearing congestion and port labor problems, Wal-Mart and other big box retailers ordered early and the ports were backed up by early summer.

Concern among retailers is even greater this year because the ports are projecting an overall 12 percent to 14 percent increase in container traffic, a problem exacerbated by a flood of Chinese garments that began arriving after World Trade Organization quotas were lifted Jan. 1.

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The full version of this story

is available in the April 18 edition of the Los Angeles Business Journal.