U.S.-bound shipments show typical growth pattern through first six months of 2015, reports Panjiva

United States-bound waterborne shipments had another strong month in June, according to data issued by Panjiva, an online search engine with detailed information on global suppliers and manufacturers.

Following May’s 7 percent gain over April, June was up 1 percent over May at 944,325 shipments, while posting a 4 percent annual gain.

Panjiva said that the 1 percent sequential growth was in line with typically flat growth from May to June, as higher monthly growth typically takes hold in July and August in advance of the holiday season. And the 4 percent annual growth hike matches up with a 6 percent increase for the same period a year ago, along with 2 percent and 5 percent gains in 2013 and 2012, respectively.

On a year-to-date basis through June, total U.S. import shipments are up 2.4 percent at 5,343,769, which is ahead of a 2 percent gain through the first six months of 2014.

“These numbers really are showing growth in the U.S. import market, as there has been growth over the past five years, with this being a continuation of that,” said Annelise McCarthy, Panjiva research director. “Things look pretty typical for this time of year, and we expect to see increased import growth this month as companies gear up for the holidays.”

Globally, recent issues in China and long-term issues in Europe continue to weigh on the overall state of trade.

But the thing to keep in mind is that issues in these areas are not having what could be called a noticeable effect on the U.S. economy, according to McCarthy.

What’s more, she explained there does not appear to be any type of lingering effect of the resolved West Coast port labor situation either, which saw a surge of import activity in March following a tentative port labor agreement being reached in February.

Looking ahead to volumes in the coming months, McCarthy said that when July data is in for Panjiva, it might not be unreasonable to see 5-to-ten percent growth for shipments from June to July.

“That has been the historical range for that period following the lull from June to July,” she said. “When we see those numbers, we will have a better sense as to how companies are feeling about the holiday season.”

With six months of import data in the books for 2014, McCarthy said the numbers are where they were expected to be, given the slow start it had because of the port labor situation, coupled with a typical slow start to the year in January and February too.