Transatlantic westbound volumes are ticking along at 5%, in large part thanks to Mexico’s greater demand for auto parts. After eight months of 2017 container shipments from North Europe to North America (inclusive of the US, Canada and Mexico) increased by 4.7%, according to statistics from PIERS and CTS. That rate is almost twice the pace of the annual growth for 2016. A great deal of this year’s momentum in the westbound market has come from Mexican imports, which accounted for 38% of the additional year-to-date total volumes, which approached 100,000 teu. The US was largest net contributor, with volumes rising by 4.2% to provide an extra 59,000 teu. Canadian imports registered only minimal growth of 0.3% up to and including August, enough for an extra 1,500 teu. More recent data for US imports only, shows that the pace of growth accelerated in September with shipments up by 10% in the month.