According to data from McCown container volume analysis, the container import volume at the top ten US ports endured a year-over-year drop of 17.9% in Jan, with ports in the West Coast taking the greatest punch.  

From what McCown recorded in this January, ports in US East and Gulf Coast saw a fall in container imports of 12.6%, to 919,589 teu. In the meantime, ports in New York/New Jersey experienced a much worse drop of 20.6%, with an actual throughput of 316,000 teu.

US West Coast has not performed well, either. Its year-on-year import container number slid to 775,577, registering a decline of 23.5%. Data analysis also showed that the Long Beach Port suffered the heaviest hit in January, with its container imports down 32.3%, to 263,394 teu.

Various factors have played a role and contributed to the falling container imports in US ports: the potential labor strikes, the pandamic-driven consumption changes, US depots becoming increasingly unaffordable, and the challenging global supply chain. The knock-off effects lead to another expected decline in the container volume this month (Feb).

In contrast, US exports look different. Containers shipped from the top US ports increased to 811,078 teu, recording a year-over-year gain of 11.9%. The main booster lies in the spiking container volume from the US East Coast Port.

It is predicted that the latter half of the year 2023 would experience a recovering bounce. Seroka, an agency dedicated to industries branding development, held the same view with the help of a forecasting model they made. However, the first six months would pale in comparison. Many factories in Aisa has been closed for longer time in Spring Festival than before, and retailers have kept emptying the inventory on the shelf.