News
Exports of containerized shipments from 12 Asian economies to the U.S. amounted to 1.226 million TEUs in August 2013, growing 3.9% year on year, according to the Japan Maritime Center (JMC). They remained brisk, exceeding the 1.2-million-TEU line for two months in a row. Increases in containers from China, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and South Asia offset decreases in those from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
Exports from Japan were sluggish, plunging 13.3% to 50,000 TEUs. In contrast, those from China, the leading source of goods destined to the U.S., rose 6.1% to 853,000 TEUs. Those from South Korea went down 7.4% to 56,000 TEUs and from Taiwan, down 0.7% to 43,000 TEUs. Containers from the ASEAN were so robust as to swell 6.9% to 54,000 TEUs, achieving year-on-year growth for the fourth consecutive month. Those from South Asia climbed for the first time in four months, improving 4.9% to 65,000 TEUs.
In the first eight months from January to August, the JMC, which released a report on container trade from Asia to the U.S. on Oct. 17 from statistical data provide by the Journal of Commerce (JOC) magazine’ Port Import/Export Reporting Service (PIERS), said that container throughput on the trade was weak. Housing-related indexes worsened in the U.S., having an adverse impact on imports of housing-related commodities, it added. The Tokyo-based public interest incorporated foundation does not expect that container movement will grow as much as the shipping industry anticipates in 2013. The industry had projected that container traffic would improve 3% from a year earlier this year.
