At the end of the traditional holiday shipping season, Port of Long Beach reported a decrease of 24 percent in the number of cargo containers shipped in October compared with the same month a year ago, according to figures released Friday.

At Long Beach, 452,418 standard cargo container units moved through the port compared to the 595,189 handled a year earlier, indicating trade is still slow.

Cargo numbers in both October and September at the Port of Long Beach were down from August, marking a disappointing slowdown for shippers just as international trade should have been peaking in anticipation of the holiday shopping season.

The Port of Los Angeles saw a similar dip in September but has yet to release its figures for October.