August U.S. waterborne shipments rebound after a tough July, reports Panjiva

While July fell somewhat short of expectations for United States-bound waterborne shipments, data from Panjiva, an online search engine with detailed information on global suppliers and manufacturers, shows that August helped make up for the previous month’s shortfall.  

August shipments were up 2 percent annually and topped July by 5 percent at 996,076, according to Panjiva data, which is above July to August differences in recent years, including a 2 percent gain in 2014, no gain in 2013, and a 3 percent decline in 2012.

On a year-to-date basis through August shipments are up 1.9 percent at 7,291,971.

“While the growth isn’t as high as we would want after an unseasonally low month in July, it suggests the holidays might be coming after all,” a Panjiva blog posting observed.

Last month, Panjiva said that July was disappointing as, coupled with August, it typically represents the busiest months of the year for U.S. importers, as companies begin stocking up for the holidays, while also providing insight into how retailers are feeling heading into the 2015 holiday season.

Panjiva Research Director Annelise McCarthy said in an interview that August’s gains shows that peak import season is shifting a bit this year, with the August numbers in line with what was expected in July. And she added that a high inventory-to-sales ratio may also have been a driver for slower import levels in July, as retailers don’t want to be burdened with too much excess inventory after the holiday season. The 2014 holiday season was viewed as largely average but not dismal either.

“Things have fluctuated a bit this year with some up and down months,” she said. “This reading is more in line with what we have seen the last couple of months over all on a year-to-date basis compared to past years but is down compared to the same year-to-date period in 2014, which was up 4.4 percent, and we would like it to be higher. This year, it is lower but still positive.”

Looking ahead to the remainder of the year, McCarthy said she is hopeful there will be another high shipment count in September and October to follow August, with an expected decline over the remaining months.