News
U.S. container imports from Japan surged 25.4% year on year to 52,775 TEUs in September (based on volumes at ports of origin), Descartes Datamyne announced last Friday. The over 25% growth was achieved as they rebounded from a sharp decrease in September 2025, which was made as containers were shipped ahead of schedule to avoid U.S. tariffs. From the previous month, however, they fell 0.8%. In the first nine months (January–September), the U.S. imported a total of 470,938 TEUs from Japan, down 0.9% year on year.
In September, 34,975 TEUs were transported directly from Japan to the U.S., up 34.9% year on year. More specifically, 11,919 TEUs were from Tokyo, up 19.6%; 11,542 TEUs from Nagoya, up 46.2%; 7,200 TEUs from Kobe, up 53.1%; 3,444 TEUs from Yokohama, up 40.7%; and 539 TEUs from Osaka, up 53.9%.
Meanwhile, the remaining 17,800 TEUs underwent transshipment en route, accounting for 33.7% of the total, down by 4.7 percentage points from September 2025. South Korea was responsible for 12,429 TEUs, up 13.9%; China, 2,673 TEUs, down 5.2%; Taiwan, 1,580 TEUs, down 10.5%; and Singapore, 101 TEUs, down 46%.
