US Imports Significantly Down On Last Year
US import container volumes are significantly down, with the top 10 ports recording a 21% drop last month compared to this time last year.
According to a recent Loadstar report, the number of import containers arriving through the top 10 US ports fell to 1.7m teu last month, with West Coast ports the worst affected.
A Los Angeles port director said last week that their terminals were currently running at 70% capacity. He blamed around 15% of this on the economic downturn and 15% on the port’s labour dispute, which has been dragging on since last year.
Tensions have continued to simmer between port owners and unions over renewal of the port terminal labour contracts which expired at the end of July.
Discussions began last May, but have regularly broken down, leading to increased fears of strikes and US importers using alternative ports.
The Port of New York/New Jersey is now challenging Los Angeles for the busiest US import port, handling just 12,000 teu less than its West Coast rival in April.
