Plunge in US imports accelerates; volumes near pre-COVID levels

The situation remains far from normal at some U.S. ports. There were still 18 container ships at anchor waiting for a berth in Savannah, Georgia, on Monday. But for the country overall, weakening inbound cargo volumes are bringing imports close to where they were before the pandemic-induced spending splurge.

Descartes reported Monday that 1,954,179 twenty-foot equivalent units of containerized cargo were imported in November. That’s down 12% month on month (m/m) and 19.4% year on year (y/y). It’s only 2.8% higher than imports in November 2019, pre-COVID, and down 37% from the May peak.

Imports typically decline in November versus October — but not by this much. This year’s m/m November drop is the steepest recorded by Descartes since 2016.

Imports from Asia fall sharply

Weakening exports from China have been a key driver of lower U.S. port numbers. That trend continued in November. U.S. imports from China dropped by 85,926 TEUs or 11.1% versus October, according to Descartes.

However, China was only part of the story. Import source declines were widespread, pointing more toward weakening demand than China-specific lockdown issues.