U.S. Imports Surge: August Inbound Container Volumes Skyrocket Nearly 20%

The ten largest U.S. container ports witnessed a staggering 19.3% year-over-year increase in inbound container volume this August, according to the latest report from industry expert John McCown. This surge marks the eleventh consecutive month of growth, solidifying 2024 as an exceptional year for U.S. port activity.

“The solid August growth marks eleven straight months of increases in year-over-year volume,” McCown noted. “That includes an increase of 16.9% for the first eight months of 2024, representing the strongest performance since the pandemic.”

August’s inbound volume reached an impressive 2,211,831 TEU, just 3.3% shy of the all-time record set in May 2022. This near-record performance underscores the robust nature of inbound containers into the U.S. this year.

While some industry observers speculate that concerns over potential a labor strike at East and Gulf Coast ports might be driving this growth, McCown’s analysis suggests otherwise. He points to stable inventory levels and inventory-to-sales ratios as indicators that the volume surge is more likely driven by underlying economic strength.

“While the data through August doesn’t show noticeable signs of pulling forward shipments related to the ILA situation, it does show some coastal shifting,” said McCown.

Notably, West Coast ports have outpaced their East and Gulf Coast counterparts in eleven of the past thirteen months. August highlighted this trend with a striking 18.1 percentage point difference between the coasts—with West Coast ports seeing a 28.4% increase, while East and Gulf Coast ports experienced only a 10.5% rise.

“The concern of a possible ILA strike affecting the East/Gulf Coasts at end of September is the driver of the most recent switching and that is evident in the high coastal spread,” according to McCown.