News
Members of Japan International Freight Forwarders Association Inc. (JIFFA) moved a total of 52.45 million tons of international multimodal shipments to and from Japan in the first half of fiscal 2015 (April-September 2015), the association unveiled recently. The total decreased 4.5% from the corresponding six months of fiscal 2014, which was the first year-on-year decline since the first half of fiscal 2009. Imports to the U.S. began to fall in the fourth quarter (July-September 2015) due to various reasons that included inventory adjustment, although exports from Europe continued to grow during the period in question thanks to the depreciation of the euro. As for other adverse factors, business remained weak in newly industrialized economies (NIEs), while the Chinese economy did not recover as much as expected and was even projected to go down further.
JIFFA indicated that exports of international multimodal cargo from Japan diminished 4.1% (840,000 tons) to 19.436 million tons during the period from April to September, suffering the first year-on-year contraction in 12 terms, or since the first half of fiscal 2009. They went downhill from the previous fiscal years, as they reach an all-time high in the first half of fiscal 2013 and established a higher record in the first half of fiscal 2014. Shipments to China, the leading destination of those from Japan, incurred a double-digit shrinkage, plunging 12.4% to 3.398 million tons. They began decreasing in the second half of fiscal 2014 (October 2013-March 2014) and remained as sluggish in the first half of fiscal 2015. They went down all the way to where they were five years ago.
JIFFA added that in the April-September period, imports of international multimodal shipments to Japan were smaller in volume than a year earlier, sinking 4.7% to 33.021 tons. Despite the weakening of the Japanese yen, inbound cargo had continued to improve constantly, setting a new record for the eighth consecutive term. In the first half, however, those from 11 countries and regions, more than half of those from which Japan imported international multimodal shipments, decreased from a year earlier. Imports from China, the leading source of those to Japan, headed south 8.8% (1.585 tons) to 16.37 million tons.
