News
Outbound containers from Japan to the U.S. decreased 7.2% to 46,604 TEUs in December 2020, registering their first year-on-year contraction in two months, according to American research company Descartes Datamyne. From the previous month, they fell 9.6%. Direct shipments accounted for 34,625 TEUs, down 8.3%, while the remaining 11,979 TEUs were transshipped in third countries/regions, down 3.9%. They included 8,499 TEUs transshipped in South Korea, down 1.3%.
On a full-year scale, Japan exported 531,314 TEUs to the U.S. in 2020, which decreased 18.1% from the previous year. Those traded directly on the route totaled 398,646 TEUs, down 17.4%. Meanwhile, those moved via transshipment in third economies came to 132,668 TEUs, down 20%, which accounted for almost 25% of the total. South Korea transshipped 89,572 TEUs, down 23.2%.
Looking at 2020 exports from Japan by port, Tokyo was responsible for 209,054 TEUs, down 8%, which made up roughly half the total throughput. Ranked second were containers from Nagoya, which plunged 13.5% to 109,922 TEUs. Finishing in third, those from Kobe shrank 4.4% to 77,740 TEUs. The No.4 port was Shimizu, from which 8,424 TEUs were exported, down 59.5%. At the bottom of the top five were exports from Yokohama, which plummeted 62.6% to 5,927 TEUs. Coming in sixth place, those from Osaka sank 34.1% to 3,545 TEUs.
