News
Container trade between Asia and the U.S. was brisk in January 2011. Thanks to the improvement in consumption in the U.S., eastbound shipments from 18 Asian economies to the U.S. rose 11.2% from a year earlier to 1.118 million TEUs (on a preliminary basis). It was the first time in three years that throughput on the trade exceeds 1,100,000 TEUs in January.
Westbound containers from the U.S. to Asia went up 8% to 511,000 TEUs, due to the robustness in paper products destined to China, a major item on the trade, fluctuating above the 500,000-TEU line for four months in a row.
The figures were released by the Japan Maritime Center (JMC), which compiles reports monthly on container movement on the Asia/U.S. trade from statistical data provided by PIERS of the U.S.
Behind the briskness in the trade’s containerized shipments were the recoveries in consumption, gross domestic product (GDP) and employment in the U.S., according to the JMC.
However, the center added there were some negative factors, such as the rises in the prices of energy and consumer prices resulting from the political instability in the Middle East, and the prolonged stagnation in the housing market.
Looking at the month in question’s eastbound containers by country of origin, those from China increased 10.7% year on year to 734,000 TEUs, which were massive on a month-on-month scale as well, representing an improvement of 15.4% from December 2010.
Exports from Hong Kong surged 32% to 45,000 TEUs, marking double-digit growth for the 10th consecutive month.
Containers from Japan climbed 7.5% to 44,000 TEUs, enjoying a year-on-year increase for 13 straight months. However, auto-related products plunged 14.9% owing to the decrease in output in the U.S. by Japanese automakers, among other factors. Japan’s share in the market for containers bound for the U.S. shrank from the 5.2% in December 2010 to 4%.
As a consequence, exports from Japan came in fifth place in Asia for the first time, over taken by those from China, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan. They managed to exceed those from Vietnam, albeit by a very small margin of 1,350 TEUs.
As for westbound containerized cargoes from the U.S. to Asia, those to China swelled 15% year on year to 201,000 TEUs, marking a year-on-year increase for four months in a row and enjoying the largest share of the pie. Those to Hong Kong increased for the eighth consecutive month, going up 5.5% to 33,000 TEUs.
Regarding imports to other countries and regions in the Far East, those to Japan hiked 5.8% to 66,000 TEUs; to South Korea, 7.6% to 55,000 TEUs and to Taiwan, 0.5% to 45,000 TEUs.
