Descartes March Global Shipping Report highlights ongoing steady volume momentum

March represented another month of strong import growth, according to the new edition of the Global Shipping Report, which issued this week by Waterloo, Ontario-based Descartes, a provider of logistics based on-demand, software-as-a-service offerings.  

This is the 32nd edition of the Global Shipping Report, going back to its debut in August 2021.

From February to March, the report observed that U.S.-bound container import volumes eked out a 0.4% increase, to 2,145,341 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), while posting a 15.7% annual gain, ahead of pre-pandemic 2019 by 20.6%. Descartes explained that the timing of the week-long Lunar New Year in Asia, which commenced on February 11 may have held import growth back, as the subsequent impact on U.S. import numbers was not realized until the last two weeks of March.

“Considering declining import volumes from China, March 2024 was a strong month and continues the robust performance that began in January 2024,” wrote Chris Jones, EVP Industry, Descartes, in the report. “Despite the combined effect of the Panama drought and the conflict in the Middle East, port transit delays showed continued improvement across nearly all the top ports, as March volumes at East and Gulf Coast ports remained stable.” 

For the top 10 U.S. ports, Descartes found that U.S container volume was off 0.3%, or 6,180 TEU, compared to February, with the Port of Los Angeles down 31,997 TEU (7.8%), the second consecutive month of import volume down by around 30,000 TEU, and the Port of Baltimore down 6,829 TEU (15.7%) seeing the largest declines. It added that Baltimore’s declines being partially influenced by the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in late March.

Ports seeing the biggest sequential gains included: the Port of New York/New Jersey (up 4.5% or 15,295 TEU); Port of Norfolk (up 5.6% or 6,819 TEU); and the Port of Tacoma (up 18.9% or 8,592 TEU).  

China’s total U.S. import tally, from February to March, fell for the second straight month, driven by the Lunar New Year, falling 13.8%, to 697,375 TEU. This accounted for 32.5% of total March U.S. container imports, off 5.0% from February and off 9.0% from the February 2022 high of 41.5%.

Looking at coastal volume share, the report found when comparing the top five West Coast ports to the top five East and Gulf Coast ports, from February to March, the top West Coast ports were down 2.5%, to 39.5%, and the top East and Gulf Coast ports rose 0.8%, to 44.8%.

For the top 10 countries of origin, Descartes reported that U.S. container import volume in March decreased 3.4%, or 51,456 TEU. China saw the steepest decline, down 111,672 TEU, for a 13.8% decrease, with South Korea saw the biggest gain, up 37.3%, or 32,493 TEU.

Port transit delays improved in March, with Tacoma and Seattle seeing slight gains over February, at 7.5 and 6.7, respectively, and Oakland seeing the biggest decline, down to 6.6 from February’s 9.4.

The report cited various issues the global shipping sector needs to monitor in 2024, including:

• Monthly TEU volumes between 2.4M and 2.6M. Descartes said this level will continue to stress ports and inland logistics until infrastructure can be enhanced;
• Port transit wait times. If they decrease, Descartes said it’s an indication of improved global supply chain efficiencies capabilities or that the demand for goods and logistics services is declining;
• The continuing impact of the pandemic, as the spread of COVID subvariants continues to add uncertainty to the trajectory of the pandemic and impact supply chains in unpredictable ways as different countries are affected at different times and for different durations;
• The economy, with the U.S. an import-driven economy, and economic health an important indicator of container import volumes;
• Panama Canal-based trade flow. The combination of the drought impacting capacity and the recently ratified International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) could accelerate the redirection of the one million TEUs that shifted from the West Coast ports during the pandemic;
• Middle East conflict. Attacks on shipping in the Red Sea by Houthis from Yemen could cause carriers to forego the Suez Canal, extending transit times and negatively impacting global shipping capacity. The impact of diversions away from the conflict is still minimal on volumes or transit delays for the East and Gulf Coast ports, said Descartes; and
• The ILA/USMX contract negotiation. A potential strike on the South Atlantic and Gulf Coasts could disrupt U.S. container imports later in 2024. Given the current Panama Canal situation, shifting volume to West Coast ports could be extremely challenging or significantly extend transit times