News
A total of 19.48 million tons of containers were imported to and exported from Japan in November 2018, growing 8.8% from the corresponding month of 2013, unveiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) on Wednesday. Container throughput increased in both directions, with imports swelling 9.6% to 12.03 million tons and exports, 7.6% to 7.45 million tons.
The MLIT, which conducts research on international marine container trade to and from Japan every five years, added that exports to and imports from other countries and regions of East Asia were down 1.6% to 9.09 million tons; to and from other Asian economies, up 29.8% to 5.23 million tons and up 10.5% to 2.28 million tons. Those to and from China fell 3%, incurring the first decline since the ministry launched its research. Meanwhile, containers to and from Southeast Asia swelled a notable 33.1% to 4.37 million tons.
Carried out for the first time since the expansion of the Panama Canal, the latest research revealed that containers to and from the west cost of North America decreased by 40,000 tons to 1.54 million tons. In contrast, those to and from the east coast augmented by some 250,000 tons to approximately 730,000 tons, according to the same research, which found Japan’s main container trade partner in North America had shifted from the west coast to the east coast.
