A Closer Look at U.S. Imports for October
1. Exporting Countries: The United States saw a significant drop in imports from Asian countries this month by over 5%. China, which accounts for over 60% of Asian exports to the United States, fell 8.2% from September and 2.4% from October of 2011. Japan, on the other hand, increased in TEUs to the United States by 14.2% from September and increased from last October by 1.7%. Europe was a similar story to Asia, with most countries seeing a drop in imports from September. Germany saw a 16.4% drop from September and Italy and Belgium decreased 7.3% and 19%, respectively.
2. U.S. Ports: The Port of Los Angeles, which accounted for 24% of U.S. imports in October, fell 6.4% from September and another 5.7% from last year. The Port of Newark/New York also fell significantly from September by 24.8%. Unlike most Ports, the Port of Tacoma actually saw an increase in TEUs of 2.3% and an even larger increase from last October by 36.3%.
3. Carriers: Most carriers also saw a drop in October TEU imports from September. The top VOCC (vessel-operating common carrier), Maersk Line, fell 13.5% this month, as well as Mediterranean Shipping Company by 9.6%. On the other hand, APL Co had a significant rise in imports by 12% and even rose from October of 2011 by 13.6%. Overall, even though vessel imports are down in October, total U.S. imports for the year are up 2.6%, compared with January through October of 2011.