Zepol: U.S. imports down 7.4% in June

Zepol: U.S. imports down 7.4% in June    U.S. import shipment volume for June decreased 7.4 percent from the same month in 2010, trade intelligence firm Zepol Corp. said Wednesday.
   The analyst said the volume, measured in TEUs, also decreased 4.6 percent from the previous month. The total number of U.S.-bound shipments decreased more than 6 percent from June 2010.
   Year to date, U.S. import volume is up 4.8 percent.
   Zepol said the overall June decrease was largely due to a nearly 6 percent decrease in incoming shipments from Asia. China played a large part in this, with a 5.8 percent decrease. Japan, however, showed a 2.5 percent increase in incoming shipments.
   Similar to Asia, shipments from Central America and South America were down 4.9 percent and 7.6 percent decrease, respectively.
   California ports ended a two-month streak of rising imports and posted an 8 percent decrease compared June 2010.