In January, Japan’s container exports to the United States reached 53,695 TEUs marking a 10.4% increase from the previous month and a significant 17.9% rise compared to January 2023.
According to the Japan International Freight Forwarders Association (JIFFA), directly routed containers accounted for 33,583 TEUs, experiencing a substantial 42.5% year-on-year surge.
In contrast, transshipped containers saw an 8.4% decline to 20,112 TEUs, comprising 37.5% of the total volume. This marks a notable drop from the 48.3% share recorded in January 2023.
Also, transshipments in South Korea decreased marginally by 5.4% to 14,118 TEUs last month, showing a robust 46.5% increase from December 2023. However, transshipments in China and Taiwan both witnessed double-digit contractions, with declines of 13% to 2,521 TEUs and 24.9% to 1,887 TEUs, respectively.
In terms of port of origin, Tokyo accounted for 13,289 TEUs in January, marking a notable 30.4% increase from the previous year. Nagoya and Kobe followed with 9,755 TEUs and 7,741 TEUs, respectively, showing robust growth rates of 38.8% and 43.5%.
Meanwhile, Yokohama saw a significant surge of 350.1%, shipping 2,138 TEUs, maintaining triple-digit growth since May 2023. However, containers from Shimizu experienced a decline of 18.6% to 254 TEUs.
