7 June 2024 (Lloyd's List) - CONTAINERISED imports to US ports broke 2.3m teu in May as a strong start to 2024 continued.

Volumes increased by 6.2% from April and 11.9% when compared with the same month in the past year, according to the latest data from logistics and software provider Descartes.

"May was yet another strong month and, for the first five months of 2024, US import container volume is up 15.5% over the same period in the past year," said Descartes executive vice-president Chris Jones.

"Significant increases in imports from China (up 17.6%) in May was the big driver of this growth."

Imports to US east and US Gulf coast ports increased 0.7% to 44.6% of total container import volume. US Gulf coast ports in particular grew their import share in May 2024, up 10.8% compared with April 2024.

The import share of US west coast ports decreased slightly, again by 0.7% down to 42.1%. The vast majority of boxes still entered through the US' top 10 ports, with their share staying constant at 86.7% of total imports.

The port of Tacoma displayed the highest growth, importing 15,094 teu in May 2024 from April 2024 (a change of 23.3%). Other frontrunners were New York, up 45,959 teu (12.7%) and Long Beach, up 45,841 (13.1%).

Descartes said port transit times continue to improve across the board, with little effect on US east and US Gulf coast import volumes from the drought in the Panama Canal or conflict in the Middle East.

The logistics company noted that the scarcity of empty boxes in China "does not make sense".

Imports and empty containers moving into China from the US increased 40.7% in the first five months of 2024 compared with the same period in 2023. With 74.9% of these being empties, the low availability of empty containers in China remains unclear.