Weak US container import volumes fall 17 months straight - Port Tracker
Cargo volumes at major US container ports have declined for 17 months, and 2008 ended as the weakest year since 2004, according to the monthly Port Tracker survey by IHS Global Insight for the National Retail Federation.
"We don't expect a significant increase in traffic at the ports until retail sales return to normal, and even then, retailers will be careful not to over-stock," said National Retail Federation vice president Jonathan Gold.
Southern California port volume fell 23 per cent in December year on year and 16.4 per cent from the previous month, according to data from the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, ports which handle 40 per cent of all US retail imports.
"That's a very brutal contraction at the end of last year," Antoine Halff, analyst at Newedge Group, told Reuters. "The volume of global imports and exports is coming down very hard and that's likely to be continued due to the sudden eclipse of the US consumer."
Port Tracker expects container volume at the US ports to fall 5.6 per cent in the first quarter of this year.
Long Beach port spokesman Art Wong told Reuters: "We're waiting for some sign that there will be a turnaround. This may be the hardest year to forecast because nobody knows when we are going to hit bottom."
Laden containers at the Port of Los Angeles in December fell 17 per cent from a year earlier and 7.5 per cent from the previous month to a total of about 406,000 TEU. Loaded containers at Long Beach totalled about 299,000 TEU in December, down 29.4 per cent from December 2007 and 29 per cent from November, the ports biggest ever monthly drop.
"We don't expect a significant increase in traffic at the ports until retail sales return to normal, and even then, retailers will be careful not to over-stock," said National Retail Federation vice president Jonathan Gold.
Southern California port volume fell 23 per cent in December year on year and 16.4 per cent from the previous month, according to data from the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, ports which handle 40 per cent of all US retail imports.
"That's a very brutal contraction at the end of last year," Antoine Halff, analyst at Newedge Group, told Reuters. "The volume of global imports and exports is coming down very hard and that's likely to be continued due to the sudden eclipse of the US consumer."
Port Tracker expects container volume at the US ports to fall 5.6 per cent in the first quarter of this year.
Long Beach port spokesman Art Wong told Reuters: "We're waiting for some sign that there will be a turnaround. This may be the hardest year to forecast because nobody knows when we are going to hit bottom."
Laden containers at the Port of Los Angeles in December fell 17 per cent from a year earlier and 7.5 per cent from the previous month to a total of about 406,000 TEU. Loaded containers at Long Beach totalled about 299,000 TEU in December, down 29.4 per cent from December 2007 and 29 per cent from November, the ports biggest ever monthly drop.