US container import volume in May this year continued its robust growth, increasing by 6.2 per cent month on month (MoM) and by 11.9 per cent year on year (YoY), according to Descartes, a Canadian multinational specialising in logistics and supply chain management software and cloud-based services.
Port transit delays continue to improve across the board as there has been little impact on East and Gulf Coast import volumes from either the Panama drought or the Middle East conflict, it said in a release.
Despite strong US container imports, the risk of global supply chain disruptions remains high because of ongoing conditions at the Panama and Suez Canals, upcoming labour negotiations at US South Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports and the Middle East conflict, it noted.
Twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) import volume was up by 11.9 per cent YoY in May, continuing to demonstrate exceptional performance, while the rise was 6.2 per cent MoM to 2,346,382 TEUs.
For the top 10 US ports, container import volume in May increased by 117,826 TEUs (6.1 per cent) MoM. The ports of New York (up 45,959 TEUs) and Long Beach (up 45,841 TEUs) experienced the greatest MoM container volume increases. The Port of Los Angeles posted the largest MoM volume decline, falling by 26,399 TEUs (6.3 per cent).
Imports from China again had a strong month, reaching the second highest monthly volume since January 2023. Such imports grew to 890,760 TEUs.
For the top 10 countries of origin (CoO), US container import volume in May this year gained 146,526 TEUs, a 9.4 per cent increase MoM. China had the lion’s share of the growth (133,619 TEUs or 17.6 per cent). Imports from Japan (minus 11,189 TEUs) and Thailand (minus 9,602 TEUs) experienced the greatest MoM volume decrease.
In May, container import volume share at East and Gulf Coast US ports grew from April as West Coast ports receded.
