The latest statistics from the Descartes Datamyne of Data Analysis Group show that in January 2023, U.S. container imports ushered in a "good start" and stopped falling and rebounded. U.S. imports from Asia showed their first month-on-month growth since August last year. Transportation delays in U.S. east coast ports also continued to improve, but they were still down 22% from January 2022. The reason was that the year-on-year decline in imports accelerated and the West Coast market share further deteriorated.

According to data from PIERS, a sister product of Standard & Poor's Global Business Journal, the US economy is a key factor in the growth of container imports. At present, the US economy has shown stronger-than-expected macroeconomic performance. Imports from the largest U.S. trade channel last month were 1.29 million TEU, up from 1.25 million TEU in December but down from 1.66 million TEU in January 2022.

The month-on-month increase in January is in line with the normal seasonal trend, that is, US retailers increase imports before Asian factories stop production to celebrate the Lunar New Year holiday starting on January 22 this year. However, the sharp year-on-year decline highlights that the sharp decline in US imports from Asia has been evident in the eastbound trans-Pacific region since September last year and has accelerated since.

According to PIERS data, imports from Asia fell 4.3% year-on-year in September, 13% year-on-year in October, 15.5% year-on-year in November, 16.6% year-on-year in December and more than 20% year-on-year in January. Moreover, the market is not showing any signs of improvement in the short term. The National Retail Federation said last week that by the first half of 2023, U.S. imports will be down nearly 20 percent from the same period last year, as "worried" consumers cut back on their purchases amid the economic slowdown.

West Coast Market Share Continues to Decline

's strong economy and consumer buying habits fundamentally affect import demand and the total volume of U.S. containers. At present, although the US government is trying to cool the economy, the US economy is still more flexible than expected.

, meanwhile, the share of U.S. West Coast imports from Asia continues to decline as retailers ship their non-essential goods through ports on the East Coast and Gulf Coast to avoid possible disruptions due to the failure of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union to reach a new labor agreement with marine terminal operators after nine months of negotiations.

west coast market share from qu nian 12 yue 54.7% of the drops to jin nian 1 yue of 54.1% according to PIERS data 2022 nian 1 yue is 57.2%. In January, the share of the East Coast fell to an increase from 37.3 percent in December last year, but from 34.8 percent in January last year. Gulf Coast ports are the beneficiaries of the decline in East and West Coast share, which rose to 9.4 percent last month from 7.7 percent in December and 7.8 percent in January 2022.

Forwardernet.com