Zepol Corporation, the leading trade intelligence company, reports that U.S. import shipment volume for May, measured in TEUs, increased by 3% compared to April, but decreased 2.2% compared to May of last year. The second-consecutive increase comes after a 23% rise in imports for April. The number of bills of lading, or total shipments, filed with U.S. Customs totaled 786 thousand in May, up 2.5% from April.
"For the first two months of the year imports were up 7% over 2012, but in the last five months imports are only up 0.04% overall," says Zepol's CEO Paul Rasmussen. "With holiday orders being placed soon, we'll likely see increased imports in the coming months."
Quick Stats for U.S. Imports in May of 2013:
1. Exporting Countries - Inbound TEUs from Brazil, Netherlands, and Chile each saw increases of over 10% from April. Other noteworthy increases came from China (6%), Germany (9%), and Taiwan (7.5%). Conversely, many countries in the Southeast Asia region, such as Thailand and Indonesia, saw decreases in exports to the United States. (See More Regional Stats on Our Blog) <http://www2.zepol.com/e/19212/de-Data-May-Import-Update-aspx/3kf26/81361565>
2. U.S. Ports - Imports to the Port of Los Angeles were flat in May, but imports to Long Beach increased by over 8% for the month. Many west coast ports increased imports, while ports on the other side of the country, such as Port Everglades and the Port of Wilmington (DE), saw decreases in imports for May.
3. Carriers - Of the top ten ocean carriers, or VOCCs, significant TEU increases were seen for Evergreen Line and China Ocean Shipping. Maersk Line and Orient Overseas Container Line, on the other hand, showed decreases from April to May.
Methodology:
Zepol's data is derived from Bills of Lading entered into U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). This information represents the number of House manifests entered by importers of waterborne vessel goods. This is the earliest indicator for trade data available for the previous month's import activity. The data excludes shipments from empty containers, excludes shipments labeled as freight remaining on board, and may contain other data anomalies.
