Ocean Cargo

Total March U.S.-bound import shipments—at 1,274,802—rose 53.2% annually, and containerized freight imports—at 3,017,140 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units) were up 50.5% annually. On a year-to-date basis through March, shipments are up 33.4%, to 3,618,519, and imports are up 28.2%, to 8,302,820.

Various media reports have indicated that the 20,000 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent) vessel Ever Given, which last week ran aground and was tapped in the Suez Canal, is now moving again.

The increased e-commerce volume generated by the pandemic has no end in sight—and signals a permanent behavioral shift of an indeterminate magnitude. In fact, it has provided an opportunity for carriers, vehicle manufacturers and tech companies to research, test and invest in alternative ways to provide pick up, transport, sortation and delivery.

Despite a decline in demand for ocean cargo service at the start of the coronavirus pandemic last year, spot container freight rates soon began to increase, driven by carriers’ supply discipline, say shipping analysts for Fitch Ratings.

North America’s Fastest Growing Gateway

This growing source of competition for valuable discretionary cargo is yet another wake-up call, especially for the Ports of LA, Long Beach, Seattle and Tacoma.

Port Tracker reported for September, the most recent month for which data is available, U.S-based retail container ports handled 2.11 million Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEU), for a new record, topping August’s 2.1 million TEU, which marked the highest tally for containers imported in a single month, at the time, going back to when NRF first started tracking imports in 2002.

POLA reported it handled a record 883,625 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEU), for the month, which marked a 13.3% annual increase, and POLB handled 795,580 TEU in September, for a 12.5% annual gain, setting a new record and topping the previous record of 753,081 TEU, which was set in July.

Port Tracker reported for August, the most recent month for which data is available, U.S-based retail container ports handled 2.1 million Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEU), marking a 9.7% gain over July and an 8% annual increase. The report said that this is the highest tally for containers imported in a single month, going back to when NRF first started tracking imports in 2002.

All eras are disruptive—it’s only a question of which disruption and when. The key advice from analysts for both shipper and carriers is to not get too greedy when you have the upper hand—your counterparts will remember when you are on the downside of the next disruption.

Ranking the Top 20 U.S. maritime ports by import volumes, the report offers a closer look at 2019 data and overall trends in U.S. imports, the impact of trade policy and tariff changes, supply chain and sourcing shifts and early indications of the trade impact of COVID-19.

As if the newly imposed IMO 2020 fuel standards and greenhouse gas emissions reduction discussions weren’t enough, carriers now face fresh costs related to maintenance and insurance heading into the post-COVID era.

Last year at this time trade tensions were largely determining where cargo would go next—now it appears that those will be regarded as “the good old days.” To what extent container volumes will rebound across the board is subject to much speculation.

The maritime industry has been deeply affected as a result of the upheaval caused by the coronavirus and its impacts to Chinese manufacturing and logistics services.