A MINNESOTA trade research company, Zepol Corporation, has reported that US import container volume increased 17.64 per cent in January compared to the previous year to nearly 1.4 million TEU.

"After a four-month slide, January showed a significant increase from December, but volumes are in line with November 2010. Much of this increase was driven by Asian origin shipments as they rose 11.3 per cent in preparation for the lunar New Year," said the company.

"Ports on the Atlantic coast show the greatest increases in volumes for January 2011 over January 2010 with an increase of 19.15 per cent compared to the Pacific coast of 16.80 per cent and the Gulf Coast of 10.68 per cent. This could be an expanding trend as shipments return to 2007/2008 totals and the same capacity issues affect southern California."

It said Maersk Line ranks as the top carrier with regard to the volume of US inbound shipments transported, but Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) and APL both showed better year-on-year growth in January at 31.13 per cent and 22.55 per cent respectively.

Zepol said its data is derived from bills of lading entered directly by shipping lines into the US Custom's Automated Manifest System. It said this information represents the number of house manifests entered by importers of waterborne containers.