Logistics business: Panjiva data shows a 6 percent decrease in U.S.-bound shipments

Data from Panjiva, an online search engine with detailed information on global suppliers and manufacturers, indicated that the number of global manufacturers shipping to the United States fell in September, following modest gains the past two months.

From August to September, U.S.-bound shipments were off by six percent at 1,054,994. In August, there was a 1 percent bump at 1,136,601 shipments, in July there was a 0.2 percent increase. While the number of U.S.-bound global manufacturing shipments was down, Panjiva said that there was not a single month in 2009 in which there were one million shipments, but over the last five months the one million shipment mark has been consistently eclipsed. 

On an annual basis, U.S.-bound shipments in September were up 12 percent compared to 939,436 shipments in September 2009.  And the number of U.S. companies receiving waterborne shipments from global manufacturers was down 6 percent in September, which is slightly higher than the 5 percent decline from both September 2009 and September 2008.

“This data is not terribly alarming,” said Panjiva CEO Josh Green. “It is in line with seasonal patterns we have seen in previous years. “I would have been surprised if the numbers looked better than they did.”

The most recent numbers appear to be in line with what appears to be a very slowly recovering economy, compared to earlier in the year, when inventory rebuilding had economic activity moving at a faster clip.

Green said in the next couple months, it is likely that the economy will continue to slow down, especially after the holiday season, when orders being placed today will be down from previous levels.

“For this holiday season, retailers probably slightly over-ordered, given what we now know about where consumers are in terms of their confidence level,” said Green. “Retailers will likely be scrambling to get rid of inventory and we will likely see some discounts, but it is not going to be like the massive inventory buildup we have seen in the past. Retailers were likely cautious but not cautious enough.”