Container Volumes Plunge in February

Ocean container imports plummeted in February, while exports dropped for the second month in a row.

According to Cass Information Systems, which released the results, “the labor problems at the West coast ports exacerbated the downward slide in February, but so far 2015 is following the weak first quarter trend we’ve seen in recent years.”

The import container index plunged 27.5 percent in February following a 6.2 percent drop in January. Despite these drops, the February 2015 index is 5.5 percent higher than February 2014. Container imports have fallen 32.0 percent year to date from December 2014 (which was the second highest level since the inception of the index series in 2010). It is not unusual for import levels to fall dramatically from January to February.

In fact, the 2015 decline was slightly less than the January‐to‐ February drops of 2014, 2013 and 2011. Imports declined from four of our top ten trading partners, including a more than 40 percent reduction in imports from China.

Traditionally, the first quarter is slower for import activity, and many companies this year have put off ordering new stock with so much inventory tied up on the West coast.

Traffic should begin to pick up March, notes Cass.

On the other side of the topic, export container shipments fell another 5.8 percent in February on the heels of a 9.9 percent drop in January. Container exports in February were 19.4 percent lower than February 2014 and have declined 15.1 percent year to date.

The February drop is in line with the January‐to‐February declines in 2013 and 2014 and is not, according to Cass, a sign of economic slowdown. Exports were down for half the top ten U.S. trading partners in February.

One of the explanations is the strength of the dollar, which makes U.S.goods more expensive relative to other countries’ goods. New export orders were down again, falling 2.0 percent in February

Category: General Update