Containers carrying US imports fell for a second straight month

New data showed the number of shipping containers carrying US imports fell for a second straight month, setting the stage for one of the sharpest year-on-year reversals on record thanks to President Donald Trump’s trade war, informed Bloomberg.

Veteran industry analyst John McCown, writing in a monthly report based on the 10 largest US ports, said that inbound container volume fell 7.9% in June from a year before. Similar declines during the global financial crisis and the pandemic were short-term slumps. In this case, however, he estimated that a 25% reduction in US container volumes is “readily possible” and would translate “directly into a $510 billion reduction in annual commerce for the US.”

The volume weakness is reflected in spot rates for containers transported to the US West Coast from China, which have dropped for five straight weeks, according to Drewry, a maritime data and analytics company.