A Closer Look at U.S. Imports this Month:
• Exporting Countries- U.S. imports from China, measured in TEUs, rose once again in May by 8.4% and are up from May of 2011 by 2.2%. Imports from Europe were down last month, but have risen in May by 3.7%. The climb in imports was mainly seen from Germany, the top European exporting country to the United States. Germany increased in TEU exports by 4% in May from April.
• U.S. Ports- Most U.S. ports saw a rise in TEU imports in May with large spikes coming from the ports of Long Beach, Seattle, and Houston. Long Beach, the United States’ second largest port, had a TEU import increase of 12% from April, but its imports are down from last May by 8%. The Port of Seattle saw a rise of 10.4% in May, moving from 69,000 TEUs processed to over 77,000. Texas’ Port of Houston had the largest spike in imports of any of the top 20 ports with a surge of 26.5% from April.
• Carriers- The top VOCC, Maersk Line, stayed roughly the same in TEUs from April, with a slight rise of 0.4% in May. Unlike Maersk, Evergreen Line, the number three carrier for May, had a dramatic increase of 14%. Other carriers with noteworthy TEU hikes were Hanjin Shipping Company and China Ocean Shipping Company which rose from April by 17.9% and 26.9%, respectively.