ATLANTA, Georgia, September 10, 2024 -- Descartes Systems Group, the global leader in uniting logistics-intensive businesses in commerce, released its September Global Shipping Report for logistics and supply chain professionals. The report shows that August 2024 U.S. container imports dropped slightly from the highs seen in July 2024 but remain above the 2.4 million twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) mark that has historically stressed U.S. maritime logistics infrastructure. A second month of high container import volumes has contributed to an increase in port transit delays at the majority of the top 10 U.S. ports. The September update of the logistics metrics monitored by Descartes reinforces the strength of U.S. container imports since the start of 2024; however, elevated container import volumes, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, and pending ILA contract negotiations may create challenges for global supply chains.
U.S. container import volumes remain high in August 2024.
August 2024 U.S. container imports showed strong performance over August 2023 volumes (see Figure 1), increasing 12.9% to 2,479,284 TEUs. While August volumes declined 3% from the exceptional high seen in July (2,556,180 TEUs), which represented a 26-month high since the all-time high set in May 2022, they remained above the 2.4 million TEU level that created port congestion and delays during pandemic years. Versus pre-pandemic August 2019, August 2024 import volume was up 15.7%. Over the first eight months of the year, total import volumes are 15.6% higher in 2024 than the same period in 2019.
Figure 1. U.S. Container Import Volume Year-over-Year Comparison
Source: Descartes Datamyne™
“With a second month of imports breaking the 2.4M TEU level that has strained ports and inland logistics in the past, port transit time delays have begun to increase at the majority of top 10 U.S. ports,” said Jackson Wood, Director, Industry Strategy at Descartes. “Imports from China continued to contribute to elevated volumes in August, recording a robust 17.2% gain over the same month last year despite being down 4.7% from July 2024.”
The September report is Descartes’ thirty-seventh installment since beginning its analysis in August 2021. To read past reports, learn more about the key economic and logistics factors driving global shipping, and review strategies to help address it in the near-, short- and long-term, visit Descartes’ Global Shipping Resource Center.
About Descartes
Descartes is the global leader in providing on-demand, software-as-a-service solutions focused on improving the productivity, security and sustainability of logistics-intensive businesses. Customers use our modular, software-as-a-service solutions to route, track and help improve the safety, performance and compliance of delivery resources; plan, allocate and execute shipments; rate, audit and pay transportation invoices; access global trade data; file customs and security documents for imports and exports; and complete numerous other logistics processes by participating in the world’s largest, collaborative multimodal logistics community. Our headquarters are in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada and we have offices and partners around the world. Learn more at www.descartes.com, and connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Global Media Contact
Cara Strohack
Tel: +1(800) 419-8495 ext. 202025
cstrohack@descartes.com
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