U.S. Container Imports Down Over 5% in 2015

Minneapolis, MN, March 12, 2015—Total U.S. container imports are down over 5% this year, compared to January and February of 2014, reports Zepol. Nearly the entire decline in imports is attributed to the West Coast ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which make up a combined 40% of U.S. container imports and have declined by 19% and 20% so far in 2015.

East Coast ports have reaped the benefit, especially the port of New York/Newark, which increased container imports by 8% this year.

Total U.S. imports by TEUs (20-foot containers) dropped from 2.93 million in January through February of 2014 to 2.78 million in 2015. Combined, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have declined by over 230,000 TEUs compared to the first two months of 2014.