Ocean carriers post strong inbound figures

In its monthly report on inbound shipments, Zepol Corporation noted that Maersk Line showed the highest number of recorded containers for the year.

Zepol, a trade intelligence company, reported that U.S. import shipment volume for July, measured in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), increased 2.45 percent from June but decreased 4.10 percent from July of 2010. The total number of shipments also increased 3.49 percent from June while also showing a decrease of 3 percent from July of 2010. Year to date, total TEUs are up 3.30 percent this year over last year.

While Europe, Central America, and South America showed a July decrease in TEUs of 0.72 percent, 4.17 percent, and 4.50 percent, respectively, the overall slight increase in TEUs can be credited to Asia’s 3.81 percent increase. China, Hong Kong, and Japan, each within Asia, showed an increase in TEUs compared to the decrease seen in South Korea and Taiwan.

The Pacific, Mid-Atlantic, and South Atlantic seaports showed an increase of incoming shipments by 4.10 percent, 5.43 percent, and nearly 2 percent respectively, directly opposite of their decreases last month. Within the Pacific ports, California showed an increase of about 4 percent while Washington showed a large increase of nearly 8 percent – the highest number of incoming shipments (55,418) they’ve posted since January 2011.

Maersk Line, in keeping their number one carrier position, showed the highest number of recorded TEUs for the year at 114,888.72 in July.

This should come as no surprise to shippers, who have praised the carrier’s service of late:

Maersk has risen steadily from its initial low ranking in our annual Ocean Carrier Performance Survey,” said Peter Friedmann, executive director, Agriculture Transportation Coalition. “This comes as direct result of as a result of diligent efforts to address specific issues identified by shippers relating to documentation and bills of lading.”

Coming in second, despite a decrease in TEUs approaching 2 percent, was APLU. Orient Overseas Container Line showed a large increase in TEUs of nearly 12 percent when compared to other carriers during July.