Containerized exports from West Coast ports surged 15 percent year-over-year in November, and imports increased 12 percent, according to statistics published today by the Pacific Maritime Association.
The strong showing in both exports and imports resulted in an increase of 13 percent in total loaded containers moving through West Coast ports in November.
The increase in exports was especially significant because U.S. containerized exports were weak during much of the year. November’s double-digit increase raised the year-to-date export growth to just 1 percent.
Europe was in recession for much of 2013, and China’s growth slowed down from recent years. The 544,415 20-foot-equivalent units exported in November made it the busiest month of the year in 2013 for exports.
November’s strong showing bodes well for exports in the coming months. Containerized exports normally begin to increase in late autumn along with the agricultural harvest. Exports usually peak in March.
The 12 percent increase in containerized imports is benchmarked off of a weak November in 2012. Imports of consumer merchandise normally peak in October for the holiday shopping season, and tail off in November and December.
In 2013, however, August was the busiest month for imports, and imports remained relatively strong over the next three months. The surge in November could be due to the rather early Chinese New Year in 2014. The lunar new year falls on Jan. 31. Many factories in China will close for two weeks or longer in February, and retailers may be fast-forwarding their imports so they won’t be shut out at the end of the January. Intermodal rail volume in the last week of December 2013 was up noticeably from the same period in 2012, according to the Association of American Railroads, which also implies that a pre-Chinese New Year rush is underway earlier than normal this year.
Imports through West Coast ports in the first 11 months of 2013 were up 2 percent over the previous year, and the total of loaded import and export containers was also up 2 percent year-to-date.
------FM JOC
