News
In December 2016, 1,316,389 TEUs of containers were exported from 18 countries and regions in Asia to the U.S., which surged 12.8% from a year earlier to establish a new record for the month of December, according to a report unveiled by the Japan Maritime Center (JMC).
In 2016, the 18 Asian economies exported 15,616,000 TEUs in total to the U.S., which increased 3.7% to reach an all-time high and exceeded the 15-million-TEU mark for two consecutive years. Containers from Southeast Asia—those from Vietnam, in particular—were so robust as to make up for sluggishness in those from China, contributing to the growth in overall container movement.
By origin, the JMC report indicated that containers from Japan increased 5.4% to 55,656 TEUs in December, enjoying the first year-on-year hike in four months. In 2016, Japan exported 640,929 TEUs, which grew 2%.
Exports from China, the leading source of containerized shipment bound for the U.S., soared 14.3% to 854,704 TEUs last month, inflating year on year for the third consecutive month. On a yearly scale, they rose 3.4% to 10,104,000 TEUs, exceeding the 10-million-TEU mark for the first time.
Containerized shipments from South Korea went up 6.9% to 64,917 TEUs in December, registering a year-on-year increase for two months in a row, and up 4.6% to 807,215 TEUs last year.
Containers from Vietnam jumped a notable 25.1% to 83,217 TEUs in December. On an annual basis, they surged 14.3% to 916,015 in 2016, overtaking those from South Korea and Taiwan to go up from fourth to second place.
By region, Southeast Asia exported 200,023 TEUs to the U.S. last month, which swelled 16.9%, while containers from South Asia climbed 7.3% to 64,189 TEUs.
