Import Highs for Transpacific Market

In the month of December, container imports to the US form Asia increased by 30% on the same month the previous year, with the rush to beat new import tariffs being the leading cause.

Two west coast gateways – Los Angeles and Long Beach, saw a large surge of imports from Chinese goods, as cargo owners tried to beat the original tariff implementation of January.

According to recent reports, a new high was set as US imports from Asia exceeded 1.5m teu in December.

A new record was also set for exports from China, with 1.09m teu, resulting in 72% of all ex-Asia traffic.

The full-year 2018 transpacific growth of 8.3% was the highest since 2010.