News
In May 2012, exports of containerized shipments from Japan and 17 other Asian economies to the U.S. increased 1.8% to 1.186 million TEUs, according a report unveiled by the Japan Maritime Center (JMC).
They enjoyed a year-on-year improvement for the third consecutive month thanks to a rise in auto parts and components, but their growth was weaker than the previous two months.
The JMC, which compiled the report from statistical data provided by the Port Import/Export Reporting Service (PIERS) of the U.S., anticipates that container movement from Asia to the U.S. will continue to go up in the months to come and peak in September due to a rise in demand for back-to-school shopping.
However, the center does not expect more robust container shipments than 2011, when they surged from a year earlier.
In the first five months, 5.363 million TEUs of containers were exported from Asia to the U.S. going up 1.9%.
Looking at the month in question’s container throughput by country of origin, exports from China went up 1.3% to 766,000 TEUs （accounting for 64.5% of the pie, enjoying the largest share）, which was an increase from a year earlier for three months in a row.
However, the combined volume of containers from China and Hong Kong remained nearly unchanged, climbing a minute 0.4% to 803,300 TEUs （67.7%）, which was also a year-on-year improvement for three straight months.
Containers from Japan soared 15.8% to 59,000 TEUs （5%） owing to briskness in the shipment of auto parts and components, which represented growth for the eighth consecutive month.
Those from South Korea also enjoyed a year-on-year rise for eight months in a row, hiking 6% to 71,000 TEUs （6%）.
On the other hand, shipments from Taiwan declined 1.3% to 50,000 TEUs, the first year-on-year decrease in 10 months.
