THE US-China trade war, the prolonged Lunar New Year factory shutdown combined with the coronavirus outbreak worldwide squeezed container volumes at most of the US' top container ports in January.
The port of Los Angeles, the nation's busiest, saw the number of 20-foot units fall 5.4 per cent in January year on year, after processing 806,144 TEU, reported tt news.com.
'We anticipated that tariffs would continue to impact cargo volumes as we moved into 2020, and our January volumes reflect that ongoing trend,' port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka said.
'The coronavirus, which prompted China's central government to extend the Lunar New Year holiday, adds a new layer of uncertainty to global trade,' he added. 'The port of Los Angeles is committed to ongoing collaboration with our customers and supply chain partners to innovate and adapt to new trade patterns.'
The nearby port of Long Beach saw a 4.6 per cent year-on-year drop in January. The port handled 626,829 TEU compared with 657,286 TEU in 2019.
'The new year is starting with a new set of challenges that are impacting importers and exporters, but we remain optimistic and expect to see modest growth in 2020,' port of Long Beach executive director Mario Cordero said.
The downturn is not limited to the west coast ports, which rely heavily on cargo to and from China. The nation's third-busiest ports, New York and New Jersey, saw their monthly container volume dip in January by 0.9 per cent to 617,024 TEU.
The port of Oakland saw a dip of 0.6 per cent in January, processing 211,160 TEU compared with 212,433 in 2019. Port officials expressed concern the remainder of the first quarter could produce lower numbers.
'Quarantines and other emergency measures have slowed Chinese manufacturing output, according to reports. As a result, shipping lines are cancelling some springtime voyages to the US,' a port of Oakland statement said.
The Northwest Seaport Alliance, which operates facilities in Seattle and Tacoma, Washington, saw a 19.1 per cent year-over-year drop in TEU as it processed 263,816 containers in January. The port authority said that last year, many shippers rushed to get imports into the US ahead of the tariffs, and now it is concerned about the coronavirus.
On the east coast, the port of Savannah suffered a 12.7 per cent drop in January volume as the port processed 377,672 TEU.
Even with the one-month dip, Georgia Ports Authority executive director Griff Lynch announced it had acquired 145 acres of land to expand, and construction was finished on another terminal that will enable dockworkers to load and unload three 14,000-TEU vessels simultaneously.
The port of Virginia registered a 5.3 per cent decline in January to 227,234 TEU.
'The agreement the federal government and China came to in mid-January will go a long way to restoring export volumes of agricultural products moving across the port of Virginia,' CEO John Reinhart said. 'We anticipate seeing a rebound in those cargoes in February, March and beyond, but the concerns related to the coronavirus are creating some new uncertainty in the industry.
Only two major ports, in Charleston, South Carolina, and Houston, recorded January increases. The port of Houston achieved a seven per cent rise in container throughput, processing 268,774 TEU. The port of Charleston posted a 2.6 per cent year-over-year increase, handling a January all-time high of 211,020 TEU thanks to a surge in plastic products.
WORLD SHIPPING
The port of Los Angeles, the nation's busiest, saw the number of 20-foot units fall 5.4 per cent in January year on year, after processing 806,144 TEU, reported tt news.com.
'We anticipated that tariffs would continue to impact cargo volumes as we moved into 2020, and our January volumes reflect that ongoing trend,' port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka said.
'The coronavirus, which prompted China's central government to extend the Lunar New Year holiday, adds a new layer of uncertainty to global trade,' he added. 'The port of Los Angeles is committed to ongoing collaboration with our customers and supply chain partners to innovate and adapt to new trade patterns.'
The nearby port of Long Beach saw a 4.6 per cent year-on-year drop in January. The port handled 626,829 TEU compared with 657,286 TEU in 2019.
'The new year is starting with a new set of challenges that are impacting importers and exporters, but we remain optimistic and expect to see modest growth in 2020,' port of Long Beach executive director Mario Cordero said.
The downturn is not limited to the west coast ports, which rely heavily on cargo to and from China. The nation's third-busiest ports, New York and New Jersey, saw their monthly container volume dip in January by 0.9 per cent to 617,024 TEU.
The port of Oakland saw a dip of 0.6 per cent in January, processing 211,160 TEU compared with 212,433 in 2019. Port officials expressed concern the remainder of the first quarter could produce lower numbers.
'Quarantines and other emergency measures have slowed Chinese manufacturing output, according to reports. As a result, shipping lines are cancelling some springtime voyages to the US,' a port of Oakland statement said.
The Northwest Seaport Alliance, which operates facilities in Seattle and Tacoma, Washington, saw a 19.1 per cent year-over-year drop in TEU as it processed 263,816 containers in January. The port authority said that last year, many shippers rushed to get imports into the US ahead of the tariffs, and now it is concerned about the coronavirus.
On the east coast, the port of Savannah suffered a 12.7 per cent drop in January volume as the port processed 377,672 TEU.
Even with the one-month dip, Georgia Ports Authority executive director Griff Lynch announced it had acquired 145 acres of land to expand, and construction was finished on another terminal that will enable dockworkers to load and unload three 14,000-TEU vessels simultaneously.
The port of Virginia registered a 5.3 per cent decline in January to 227,234 TEU.
'The agreement the federal government and China came to in mid-January will go a long way to restoring export volumes of agricultural products moving across the port of Virginia,' CEO John Reinhart said. 'We anticipate seeing a rebound in those cargoes in February, March and beyond, but the concerns related to the coronavirus are creating some new uncertainty in the industry.
Only two major ports, in Charleston, South Carolina, and Houston, recorded January increases. The port of Houston achieved a seven per cent rise in container throughput, processing 268,774 TEU. The port of Charleston posted a 2.6 per cent year-over-year increase, handling a January all-time high of 211,020 TEU thanks to a surge in plastic products.
WORLD SHIPPING