News
Containerized shipments from Asia to Europe declined 3.7% from a year earlier to total 14,823,317 TEUs in 2015, according to a report released by the Japan Maritime Center (JMC). Due to the slowdown in the Chinese economy and other factors, they took a downward turn after having enjoyed year-on-year growth for two years in a row, although the European economy recovered slowly.
Looking at container exports by origin, the JMC report, which had been compiled from statistical data provided by Container Trades Statistics, Ltd. (CTS) of the U.K., indicated that shipments from Vietnam rose 3.8% to 575,298 TEUs, but that those from other major economies in the region decreased across the board. Holding a share of 72% of the pie, those from China fell 3.6% to 10,687,855 TEUs. As for exports from other countries and regions, those from South Korea went down 4.8% to 966,283 TEUs; from Japan, down 8.9% to 495,407 TEUs; from Thailand, down 5.2% to 478,221 TEUs; from Indonesia, down 0.9% to 388,682 TEUs; from Taiwan, down 3.2% to 349,111 TEUs; from Hong Kong, down 14% to 317,224 TEUs and from Singapore, down 6.3% to 95,764 TEUs.
Meanwhile, containers imports from Europe to Asia increased a mild 1% year on year to 6,920,649 TEUs last year, the JMC report said. Focusing on the top five sources, those from Germany enjoyed the leading share, but in terms of volume, they waned 2.4% to 1,211,035 TEUs. Finishing in third place, those from the U.K. fell 2.5% to 574,954 TEUs. In contrast, imports from the Netherlands improved 7.3% to 700,045 TEUs, helping the nation come in second. Ranked fourth were those from Italy, which climbed 5.6% to 547,542 TEUs. Hiking 1.9% to 546,907 TEUs, containers from Belgium reached number five.
