News
In June 2012, 18 Asia--Japan and 17 other economies in the region--exported a total of 1.151 million TEUs of containerized shipments to the U.S., increasing 3.2% from a year earlier, according to a report released by the Japan Maritime Center （JMC） on Aug. 22. They achieved a year-on-year improvement for four months in a row. In particular, containers from eastern Asia were favorable, with those from Japan growing 7.5%; South Korea, 4.2% and China, 3.3%, but exports from Vietnam and India were even better, which soared 18.4% and 8.4%, respectively.
Major contributors to the overall growth were furniture and other household goods, which grew 1.2%; general electrical machinery, 0.9%; and auto parts and components, 0.7%, all of which were among the top 10 items exported from Asia to the U.S.
In the first half （January-June） of 2012, containers from Asia to the U.S. went up 25% year on year to 6.502 million TEUs, said the same report, which was compiled from statistical data provided by the Port Import/Export Reporting Service （PIERS） of America.
The JMC anticipates that eastbound container movement will continue to amount to around 1.150 million TEUs every month for the rest of the calendar year, exceeding what it was in 2011 on an annual scale, when it suffered year-on-year decreases for the eight consecutive months from May to December.
However, the Tokyo-based organization added that it needs to keep an eye on developments in the back-to-school and Chrisman business seasons in the U.S. and that it must keep in mind that no economic index shows a positive sign.
