In a positive turn of events, U.S. container imports exhibited a nearly 10% increase in December compared to the same month the previous year, signaling a robust finish to 2023, according to the latest Global Shipping Report by Descartes Systems Group. The report indicated that import volumes continued to outpace pre-pandemic levels through the peak shipping season, reaching 2.1 million TEUs in December 2023.
Compared to December 2022, the growth was notable at 9.2%, and there was a substantial 10.6% increase when measured against the pre-pandemic levels of December 2019. While the month-over-month growth compared to November 2023 was more modest at 0.4%, the numbers indicate a positive trend in U.S. container imports.
The overall import volumes for 2023 accounted for 4.6% of 2019 totals, reflecting a decline of 11.7% compared to the peak in 2022 when the pandemic-induced import surge began to taper off.
Interestingly, Descartes’ report highlighted some counterintuitive shifts in coastal performance. The East and Gulf Coast ports experienced increases, driven by significant volume growth at the Port of Houston, while the top West Coast ports, particularly the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, witnessed decreases. Consequently, East and Gulf Coast ports expanded their share of U.S. container imports to nearly 45%, whereas top West Coast ports saw a decrease in market share to 39.7%.
Despite concerns about the drought in the Panama Canal, there seemed to be no significant impact on U.S. container import volume at East and Gulf Coast ports in December. Volumes recovered after a brief drop, indicating resilience in the face of potential disruptions.
Port delay times registered an increase across the board in December, with Gulf Coast ports, particularly the Port of Houston, experiencing the most significant container volume increase (30%) compared to November.
Chris Jones, EVP Industry Descartes, commented on the positive performance in December, stating, “December was a solid month, and it’s fair to say that U.S. import container volume over the year was beyond what the market anticipated last January.” However, he cautioned that the conflict in the Middle East affecting transit through the Suez Canal could impact U.S. import container volumes starting in January, adding a note of caution to the overall positive outlook.