Container volumes at ports in the US, Europe and Asia have dropped in the first half of this year as their economies continue to ebb since the pandemic, according to a shipping container analyst.
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on the US West Coast have experienced the largest decline of 24.5%, compared to the first six months of 2022, in container throughput, out of 30 major ports worldwide, Alphaliner said in a report on Wednesday.
“It remains to be seen if the recent signing of a new labour agreement for west coast dockworkers can help the [Port of Los Angeles] claw back some of the business lost to east coast ports over the past two years in what is clearly a difficult economic environment,” the analyst said.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey sustained the second biggest drop in volume as it handled 3.74m teu in the first six months of 2023, down 23.7% from what it took in during the same period last year.
“The three US ports recorded the biggest declines, a clear reflection of the economic downturn since the pandemic,” Alphaliner said.
Georgia’s Port of Savannah saw the third largest fall in volume as its throughput slid to 2.38m teu during the first six months of this year, 17.8% down from the same time frame in 2022.
Hong Kong’s six-month volume fell 15.4% to 7.13m teu, while Hamburg’s throughput dropped 11.7% to 3.86m teu. The volume for Taiwan’s Port of Kaohsiung slipped 11.2% to 4.33m teu.
Half-year volumes declined 8% to 6.68m teu at the Port of Rotterdam, 6% to 13.5m teu at China’s Port of Shenzhen, 5.3% to 3.86m teu at the Port of Hamburg and 5.2% to 6.42m teu at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges.
“The six European and American ports featuring in the top-30 ranking of major container ports showed across-the-board declines in throughput in the first half of the year, as the impact of economic contraction in the west took effect,” Alphaliner said.
But total container volumes for all of China’s ports rose 4.8% during the first half of 2023 to 149m teu, up 4.8% from the same stage last year.
“Chinese throughput may not hold up, however, with export data showing rapidly declining figures,” Alphaliner said.
“The country reported its lowest export figures in more than three years in July, although the decline slowed in August.”
