2024-02-14 20:48:09
West Coast ports are seeing minimal impact from militant attacks and drought that are forcing merchant ships to find alternatives to trade shortcuts through the Suez and Panama Canals, a top U.S. port official said Wednesday.
These diversions led to a slight increase in volume at the Los Angeles container port, the busiest in the United States. “This is not a deluge of cargo,” Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, said at a news conference.
Maersk and other large container ship operators avoid drone and missile attacks in the Red Sea by sending goods destined for Europe and the U.S. East Coast via the southern tip of Africa instead than through the Suez Canal.
Europe is highly exposed to what has become the biggest disruption to shipping since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic – supermarkets are bracing for tea shortages in Britain and IKEA is warning of d possible shipping delays.
Although the impact on the United States is limited, some U.S. importers are shifting shipments from Asia to the direct Pacific Ocean route and West Coast ports.
If this trend were to intensify, Seroka said, Los Angeles “has the capacity to handle additional cargo.”
U.S. container import volumes jumped 9.9% in January from a year earlier, according to data from Descartes Datamyne. Imports from China rose to their highest level in two years, as higher shipments of goods such as chemicals, electrical components and furniture more than offset declines in consumer electronics and clothing.
Retailers such as Walmart, Amazon and Home Depot dominate global container shipping. The industry’s January sales nearly matched those of the December shopping season, boosting demand.
Mr. Seroka attributed the nearly 19% jump in imports from the Port of Los Angeles in January to restocking and a rush for goods before Chinese factories close to celebrate the Lunar New Year, which begins on February 10.
Los Angeles and other major West Coast ports lost market share to their East Coast rivals during dockwork labor negotiations in 2023, which affected Pacific Coast ports. Importers are seeking to avoid any disruption from this year’s negotiations at ports on the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico.
The top five West Coast ports handled 43% of U.S. import volume in January, an increase of more than 3% from December. Volume declined nearly 3% at major ports on the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico, bringing their share to just over 42%, according to Descartes. (Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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