US June box imports down 3.7pc from May, but up 4.4pc year on year: Zepol

THE US import shipment volume in TEU for June shrank 3.7 per cent from May, but increased 4.4 per cent from June 2011 and the second quarter has topped the same period last year by 4.7 per cent, according to a report from Minnesota-based trade intelligence firm Zepol.

Zepol said despite the decline from May, June still recorded the second highest level of container imports so far this year, better than January's figures by one per cent. "Last year saw a comparable trend in the summer months with a moderate dip in June, but spikes in July and August," it said.

Decline in shipments from most Asian countries to the US was seen, with China, South Korea and Japan having a slight 0.03 per cent decrease each from May. Germany had a large decrease of 12.9 per cent from May. Conversely, Latin American countries like Brazil and Chile were able to increase their exports to the US, with Brazil having 14.3 per cent growth and Chile 7.2 per cent.

For US ports, seven of the top 10 ports experienced a decline in TEU imports in June. The port of Los Angeles decreased five per cent in imports from May, while the Long Beach saw a reduction of 3.7 per cent.

Both the Port of Seattle and the Port of Miami saw good performance in TEU imports in June, with a 2.5 per cent increase for Seattle and 4.8 per cent growth for Miami. For the second quarter of 2012, the Port of Tacoma had a significant import growth of 23.3 per cent from the same period of 2011.

Most carriers experienced a shrinkage in imports in June. Maersk Line saw a 6.6 per cent reduction in imports and Geneva's MSC suffered an 8.6 per cent decrease. But Cosco and Hong Kong's OOCL both increased volume more than eight per cent from May.

For the second quarter, Maersk and Marseilles' CMA CGM collectively shared the largest import increases. Container volumes from Maersk grew 16.9 per cent compared to the same period of 2011 and CMA CGM's volumes also increased 18.5 per cent.