Goods from China boosted U.S. ocean imports in October, Descartes said

Descartes Systems group

11/11/2024 20:13

LOS ANGELES, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Shipments from China
helped U.S. imports of containerized goods exceed 2.4 million
20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) for the fourth consecutive month
in October, trade data supplier Descartes Systems Group  DSG.TO 
said on Monday. 
    U.S. container imports last month totaled 2.49 million TEUs,
a 1% decline from September and just 2.4% lower than this year's
high in July. 
    Import volume from China reached 960,016 TEUs, up 8.3% from
October 2023 and reflecting an overall upward trend this year.
The most common imports from China include furniture, bedding,
toys, games and sports equipment, Descartes data showed. 
    U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to impose 60%
tariff on Chinese goods and on products from other countries,
including Mexico. Some importers told Reuters they already have
rushed in shipments to avoid paying additional levies on Chinese
products.   
    China accounted for 38.5% of total U.S. container imports in
October, below the February 2022 peak of 41.5%.
    At seven of the top 10 U.S. ports, transit time delays
increased in October. That includes the top five East and Gulf
Coast ports, where operations were disrupted by a three-day
strike at the beginning of the month.
    The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) labor
union and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer
group ended that impasse with a deal on wages. They set a new
Jan. 15 deadline to reach a tentative deal on port automation
and other remaining issues.      

 (Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Aurora
Ellis)
 ((lisa.baertlein@thomsonreuters.com))