Container exports from Japan to the U.S. amounted to 48,965 TEUs in July (based on volumes at ports of origin), which plunged 10.9% from a year earlier and have registered a year-on-year contraction for five months in a row, according to Descartes Datamyne. From a month earlier, however, they improved 0.2%.
Moreover, direct shipments accounted for 29,245 TEUs, down 12.5%. Containers transshipped on the way were also sluggish, falling 8.5% to 19,720 TEUs. They accounted for 40.3% of the total, which has exceeded the 40% line for the first time since April.
Additionally, containers transshipped in South Korea were down 6.8% to 14,122 TEUs; in China, down 19.4% to 2,391 TEUs, in Taiwan, down 4.5% to 1,771 TEUs; and in Singapore, down 10.8% to 915 TEUs.
By port of origin in Japan, Tokyo was responsible for 11,188 TEUs, which plummeted 24.9%, but managed to hold the largest share of the pie. Containers from Nagoya and Kobe were both stagnant, falling 11.5% to 7,772 TEUs and 26.4% to 5,835 TEUs.
Furthermore, those from Yokohama more than quadrupled, skyrocketing 350.2% to 3,435 TEUS, while those from Shimizu were also brisk, surging 33.4% to 519 TEUs.
In June, meanwhile, Japan imported 55,445 TEUs of containers from the U.S. (based on volumes at ports of destination), which sank 12.2% from a year earlier and 13.3% from a month earlier.
Direct shipments accounted for 39,883 TEUs, down 7.3%, while 8,812 TEUs were transshipped on the way, down 29.1%, which accounted for 18.1% of the total.
Finally, in the first half (January-June), container imports from the U.S. to Japan totaled 345,220 TEUs (based on volumes at ports of destination), which waned 1.3% year on year. Direct shipments increased 6.8% to 285,703 TEUs, and transshipment containers declined 27.7% to 59,517 TEUs, which accounted for 17.2% of the total.
