U.S. container imports dipped below pre-pandemic levels in January, but a rebound in Chinese imports and consecutive monthly gains points to a stronger than anticipated economic activity, according to Descartes Systems Group (Nasdaq: DSGX) (TSX:DSG).
Containerized imports last month totaled just over 2 million TEUs, marking a 16.1% drop compared to January 2022. However, looking at consecutive months, January’s container imports increased 7.2% versus December to more tightly align with January 2019 levels. But imports last month actually came in 0.3% below January 2019, marking the first month to underperform pre-pandemic 2019 levels since July 2020.
Credit: Descartes Systems
Imports from China also reversed a downward trend last month, rebounding even stronger with 11% growth over December 2022. Granted, Chinese imports are still down 24% from the 2022 high in August.
Descartes believes these key indicators point to stronger than anticipated economic activity, but challenges remain. “This could impact future container import volumes but, combined with COVID, the Russia/Ukraine conflict and the West Coast labor situation, continue to highlight potential disruptions that could make for challenging global supply chain performance in 2023,” Descartes said.
Port delays continued to improve in January with East Coast ports picking up the most gains. Most notably, the Port of Seattle grew by 3.6 days to 9.0 days versus December 2022.
Descartes’ report also shows west coast ports making some headway on regaining market share lost to East and Gulf Coast ports over this past year. Imports in the East and Gulf Coast ports declined 0.3% versus December 2022 to hold a 45.2% market share, while West Coast ports increased to 38.6% in January, up 0.5% versus December 2022.
“Comparing January 2023 import volume to growth of the previous five years, the 7.2% increase can be considered significant and Chinese imports rebounded with even stronger growth,” said Chris Jones, EVP Industry & Services at Descartes. “The January U.S. container import data shows some stability, but a number of issues continue to point to challenging global supply chain performance in 2023.”
The European Commission has strengthened its maritime safety regulations by implementing new mandatory insurance reporting requirements for all vessels in EU waters. Under the amended Vessel Monitoring Directive (2022/59/EC), ships...
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has delivered a significant ruling in a contentious shipping dispute, awarding Samsung Electronics America (SEA) $3.68 million in reparations against ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd....
(Bloomberg) — Four new Russian companies have sought India’s approval to provide insurance for crude oil tankers docking at ports in the South Asian nation, according to people familiar with...
9 hours ago
Total Views: 50
Get The Industry’s Go-To News
Subscribe to gCaptain Daily and stay informed with the latest global maritime and offshore news
— just like 109,148 professionals
Secure Your Spot
on the gCaptain Crew
Stay informed with the latest maritime and offshore news, delivered daily straight to your inbox
— trusted by our 109,148 members
Your Gateway to the Maritime World!
Essential news coupled with the finest maritime content sourced from across the globe.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.