Descartes’ March Global Shipping Report sees sequential gains and annual declines for U.S. imports

Following a steep sequential decline, for U.S.-bound container import volumes, from January to February, there was a bounce back in volumes, from February to March, according to the recently-issued April Global Shipping Report from Waterloo, Ontario-based Descartes, a provider of logistics -based on-demand, software-as-a-service offerings.  

This is the 21st edition of the Global Shipping Report, going back to its debut in August 2021.

In the report, Descartes stated that U.S. container volumes—at 1,853,705 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units)—saw a 6.9% sequential increase in March, but fell 27.5% annually and up 4.2% compared to March 2019, a full year ahead of the onset of the pandemic. Descartes noted that there were a few factors at play when looking at the March data, including how March has three more days than February’s 28 and with the Chinese Lunar New Year in January, there is a chance that it could affect March container import volumes. March’s 6.9% sequential increase is the third-highest for the period going back to 2017, with the caveat that it was the lowest since consumer demand grew significantly because of the pandemic.

Looking at U.S. container import volume for the Top 10 U.S. ports, the report pointed to a cumulative 98,379 TEU gain, which was paced by a 30% increase at the Port of Los Angeles, at 74,355 TEU, and the Port of Long Beach up 25%, or 59,885 TEU. And imports from China were down 7.4%, to 586,129 TEU, a 41.6% decrease compared to the August 2022 high. Despite the decline, China accounted for 31.6% of total March U.S.-bound container imports, off 4.9% from February and off 9.9% compared to the February 2022 high.  

And in March, the volume share at top West Coast ports grew significantly, noted Chris Jones, EVP Industry at Descartes, in the report.

“Comparing the top five West Coast ports to the top five East and Gulf Coast ports in March 2023 versus February 2023 shows that, of the total import container volume, top East and Gulf Coast ports increased slightly to 47.4% up 0.9% versus February, but top West Coast ports increased to 43.0%, up 7.0% versus February 2023,” said Jones. “Led by growth at the top West Coast ports, the top 10 ports gained share in March 2023 compared to smaller ports, as the top 10 represented 90.7% of all volume compared with 82.8% in January 2023. In March 2023, the market share for the top 10 ports reversed the steady decline that has been occurring since mid-2022 and was the highest share in the last year.”

The report highlighted some key issues and concerns related to U.S. imports trends and themes, including:

• the ongoing West Coast port labor issues between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association;
• California Law AB5 remaining a significant issue with no resolution in sight and a risk that more AB5-related stoppages could occur in the future at other ports in California;
• fluctuations in diesel costs; and
• widespread Covid infections in China since it loosened its quarantine policies, among others