US IMPORTS from Asia in February jumped 27.3 per cent year on year, a seven-month double-digit growth trend that shows no signs of slowing, reports IHS Media.
Global Port Tracker, published monthly by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates, projects that containerised imports will increase by double digits each month through June year on year.
The steady increase is again sustained by the launch of the US$1.9 trillion stimulus package that will deliver another shot in the arm for consumer demand, said the report.
The 1,347,830-TEU of imports from Asia in February were down 17.7 per cent from January, but that can be explained by the surge in imports in January before many factories in Asia closed for Chinese New Year that began February 12.
Imports in March appear to be rebounding strongly as factories reopened in late February.
US imports are projected to continue growing into the summer, if not through the peak shipping season from August through October. US retailers expect that sales in 2021, driven largely by online purchases, could exceed 2020's sales growth of 6.7 per cent.
' Those [stimulus] cheques can have a material impact in prolonging the current boom, even though not all stimulus money will be spent on goods, nor will cheques be granted to all,' said Lars Jensen, CEO and partner of SeaIntelligence Consulting.
Mr Jensen noted that total consumer spending increased $500 billion in January as purchases of furnishings and household equipment, large items that take up a good deal of space in containers, demonstrated that consumers are not backing off on spending. That total breaks down to about $1,500 in spending per person, he said.Total US containerised imports in February increased 20.3 per cent; imports from China alone jumped a massive 44.3 per cent, according to PIERS data.
The huge increase in February indicates China will remain the largest source of US containerised imports. Imports from China last month represented 43.4 per cent of total US imports and 64.3 per cent of US imports from Asia, according to PIERS.
' There is presently no sign in the economy that the demand boom into the US will slow down in the short term,' Mr Jensen said. ' At the same time, there is no sign from the operational side of the container shipping industry that the bottleneck effects will be resolved in the short term. Shippers need to plan for the current challenge to be a normal state of affairs for a while longer.'
SeaNews Turkey
Global Port Tracker, published monthly by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates, projects that containerised imports will increase by double digits each month through June year on year.
The steady increase is again sustained by the launch of the US$1.9 trillion stimulus package that will deliver another shot in the arm for consumer demand, said the report.
The 1,347,830-TEU of imports from Asia in February were down 17.7 per cent from January, but that can be explained by the surge in imports in January before many factories in Asia closed for Chinese New Year that began February 12.
Imports in March appear to be rebounding strongly as factories reopened in late February.
US imports are projected to continue growing into the summer, if not through the peak shipping season from August through October. US retailers expect that sales in 2021, driven largely by online purchases, could exceed 2020's sales growth of 6.7 per cent.
' Those [stimulus] cheques can have a material impact in prolonging the current boom, even though not all stimulus money will be spent on goods, nor will cheques be granted to all,' said Lars Jensen, CEO and partner of SeaIntelligence Consulting.
Mr Jensen noted that total consumer spending increased $500 billion in January as purchases of furnishings and household equipment, large items that take up a good deal of space in containers, demonstrated that consumers are not backing off on spending. That total breaks down to about $1,500 in spending per person, he said.Total US containerised imports in February increased 20.3 per cent; imports from China alone jumped a massive 44.3 per cent, according to PIERS data.
The huge increase in February indicates China will remain the largest source of US containerised imports. Imports from China last month represented 43.4 per cent of total US imports and 64.3 per cent of US imports from Asia, according to PIERS.
' There is presently no sign in the economy that the demand boom into the US will slow down in the short term,' Mr Jensen said. ' At the same time, there is no sign from the operational side of the container shipping industry that the bottleneck effects will be resolved in the short term. Shippers need to plan for the current challenge to be a normal state of affairs for a while longer.'
SeaNews Turkey