SIMIC

The report shows that November US container import volumes declined close to November 2019 levels.

November 2022 US container import volumes declined 12 per cent from October to 1,954,179 TEU.

Versus November 2021, TEU volume was down 19.4 per cent and 2.8 per cent higher than the pre-Covid crisis in November 2019.

"Comparing fall imports in 2022 to the previous six years, November would have been expected to be lower than October; however, November 2022 had the greatest October-to-November decline since 2016 at 12 per cent," said Descartes vice president Chris Jones.

"The November US container import data reaffirms that the pressure on supply chains and logistics operations has begun to lift, but there are still a number of issues that may cause further disruptions in 2023."

All of the top 10 US ports saw volume declines, with the exception of the Port of Seattle.

The downward trend continued in November for US container imports from China, down 11.1 per cent versus October and down 31.5 per cent from the 2022 high in August to 686,514 TEU.

China represented 35.1 per cent of the total US container imports, a decline of 6.4 per cent from the high of 41.5 per cent in February 2022.

The top west coast ports continue to experience container throughput shifts to other ports, including the east and Gulf coasts.

The Port of New York/New Jersey remained in the top spot at 340,969 TEU in October and November 2022.

The Port of Los Angeles came in second at 306,547 TEU, and Long Beach was third at 254,158 TEU.