The latest data from Descartes reveals that U.S. imports did not decrease in December, despite concerns about trade disruptions. In fact, the U.S. imported 2,107,012 twenty-foot equivalent units of containerized goods in December, which is a 0.4% increase from November and a 9.2% increase year-on-year.
One factor that may have contributed to this unexpected increase is the drought in Panama, which led to reductions in transits of larger Neopanamax-class container ships in November and December. This caused some ships to reroute from the Panama Canal to the Suez Canal and even longer voyages around the Cape of Good Hope. Despite this, U.S. import volumes remained strong, particularly in East and Gulf Coast ports.
According to Descartes’ data, imports to major East Coast ports such as Houston, New York/New Jersey, Charleston, Savannah, and Baltimore all saw significant increases in December. In contrast, imports to key West Coast ports like Long Beach, Los Angeles, and Tacoma decreased during the same period.
Overall, U.S. import volumes in 2023 surpassed pre-COVID levels, with full-year imports reaching 24,959,664 TEUs. This indicates a strong recovery in consumer spending on both goods and services, supporting inbound containerized volumes.
