U.S. CONTAINER IMPORTS CONTINUE TO RISE, OUTPACING PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS
Imports from China increased by 2.3% in October 2023 compared to September, reaching 886,842 TEUs. However, this is still a decrease of 11.6% from the peak in August 2022. China accounted for 38.4% of total U.S. container imports in October, a decrease of 0.9% from September and 3.1% from February 2022.Despite favorable labor conditions and concerns about the Panama Canal drought, the top West Coast ports continued to lose market share of imports. The top five East and Gulf Coast ports accounted for 45.1% of the total import container volume in October, marking a 3.0% increase. On the other hand, the top five West Coast ports saw their market share decrease to 39.6%, which was down by 3.7%.“October has traditionally been a stronger month than September. However, the last two months show an increase above pre-pandemic 2019 import levels, which are counter to the declines expected at the end of the year.
ONE EXPANDS TERMINAL CAPACITY IN ROTTERDAM AND US WEST COAST
Ocean Network Express (ONE) has completed its acquisition of significant stakes in three major container terminals on the U.S. West Coast and in Rotterdam.The acquisitions include a 51% stake TraPac LLC (TraPac) and Yusen Terminals LLC (YTI) at the ports of Los Angeles and Oakland, respectively, and a 20% stake in Rotterdam World Gateway (RWG) at the Port of Rotterdam.ONE signed definitive agreements to acquire the TraPac and YTI terminals from Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), respectively, in December. TraPac and YTI have been providing container handling services and vessel stevedores in Los Angeles and Oakland for several decades. The terminals have a combined capacity of 4.3 million TEU annually.
MOBILE LOOKS TO BOOST CONTAINER TERMINAL CAPACITY TO HANDLE INTERMODAL DEMAND As it moves closer to increasing its container handling capacity by about 70% within two years, the Port of Mobile is already considering another significant capacity boost after that. Mobile is looking for additional container space as it expects to serve the growing demand for intermodal service out of the port.
A Transporter & BNSF LAUNCH NEW INTERMODAL SERVICE TO GRAB TIME-SENSITIVE FREIGHT BNSF Railway and a transport company said they have launched a new premium service called Quantum Intermodal, designed for shippers who have time-sensitive cargo that has traditionally been hauled via trucks because of inconsistent rail service. will offer shippers priority loading and unloading of containers, priority drayage, and a team of Transporter and BNSF operations staff in Fort Worth, Texas, who will pay special attention to all loads.
