ATLANTA, Georgia, June 14, 2022 -- Descartes Systems Group, the global leader in uniting logistics-intensive businesses in commerce, released its June report on the ongoing global shipping crisis and analysis for logistics and supply chain professionals. The report shows that May container shipments into the U.S. hit a new all-time high making the task of managing supply chain risk more complicated to navigate.
Fueled by continued strong consumer spending, May container import volumes surpassed 2.62M twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), which not only continues the record monthly trend for the year but also eclipses the 2.6M TEU level for the first time (see Figure 1). Container imports for the month crept up 7% over April and, in contrast to previous years, were up 3% over May 2021 and 26% over pre-pandemic May 2019.
Figure 1. U.S. Container Import Volume Year-over-Year Comparison
Source: Descartes Datamyne™
“May saw imports from China up 5.4% compared to April, as COVID lockdowns began to ease in major manufacturing hubs, especially Shanghai. Compared to May 2021, however, overall imports from China were down 2.1%, highlighting the potential volume still to come in the months ahead,” said Chris Jones, EVP Industry & Services at Descartes.“Even as wait times at top U.S. ports continued to decline in May (see Figure 2), the new overall high for import volumes, increasing production levels in China and the approach of peak season indicate there’s the potential for high activity in ocean trade in the second half of the year.”
Figure 2: Average Monthly Wait Times (in days) at Top 10 U.S. Ports
| Port | April | May |
| Los Angeles | 10.3 | 9.3 |
| Long Beach | 9.7 | 8.8 |
| New York/New Jersey | 14.7 | 3.6 |
| Savannah | 10.7 | 10.6 |
| Norfolk | 14.1 | 12.0 |
| Houston | 11.6 | 11.5 |
| Charleston | 13.4 | 10.6 |
| Oakland | 13.8 | 11.8 |
| Seattle | 11.5 | 11.4 |
| Tacoma | 11.4 | 8.3 |
Source: Descartes Datamyne™
The June report is Descartes’ 11th installment since beginning its analysis in August 2021. To read past reports, learn more about the key economic and logistics factors driving the global shipping crisis, and review strategies to help address it in the near-, short- and long-term, visit Descartes’ Global Shipping Crisis Resource Center.
About Descartes
Descartes is the global leader in providing on-demand, software-as-a-service solutions focused on improving the productivity, performance and security of logistics-intensive businesses. Customers use our modular, software-as-a-service solutions to route, schedule, track and measure 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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