ocean container shipping

There has been no shortage of doom and gloom about the “plunge” in U.S. imports this year. And yet, the numbers still don’t show anything to be particularly gloomy about.

U.S. imports have been rising month on month since February. They were up sequentially yet again in September, according to data released Tuesday by Descartes Systems Group (NASDAQ: DSGX).

Descartes said the U.S. imported 2,203,452 twenty-foot equivalent units in September. That’s up 0.3% versus August and up 27% from the low...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/us-container-imports-still-rising-topping-pre-covid-levels

In October 2021, Willie Adams, president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), sat across the table from President Joe Biden at the White House. The two met again at the White House last month, celebrating the new six-year labor contract for America’s West Coast ports.

“I’ve known Willie for a long time,” said Biden after the latest meeting. “I was kidding him: I said I want to know who his haberdasher is. He looks awfully good, doesn’t he? I like that cut.”

Just a few weeks...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/how-a-fight-over-2-jobs-bankrupted-union-of-40000-dockworkers

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The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), which represents dockworkers at ports along...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ilwu-dockworkers-union-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy-protection

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It’s not looking good for container shipping lines. Peak season is running out of whatever limited...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/trouble-ahead-container-shipping-rates-sinking-further-into-the-red

Container shipping spot rates in the trans-Pacific trade started to rise in late June and remain near their highs for 2023. The question is: How much of this rate gain is driven by peak season demand, and how much by shipping lines intentionally constraining capacity?

U.S. import numbers confirm that at least some of this rate gain is demand-driven.

On Monday, Descartes reported that U.S. ports imported 2,196,268 twenty-foot equivalent units in August, up 0.4% from July and 5.5% from June. This...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/us-container-imports-rise-in-line-with-pre-covid-peak-season-pattern