SIMIC

It is the clearest sign yet that retailers have shifted discretionary cargo away from the West Coast in a bid to avoid potential disruptions linked to the contract talks, reports IHS Media.

While retailers normally divert some discretionary cargo to ports on the East and Gulf coasts in years when the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) and Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) negotiate a new contract, the shift away from the West Coast has been particularly dramatic this year.

Import volumes from Asia to the East Coast jumped 11.8 per cent from January through September compared with the year-ago period, while surging 29.2 per cent on the Gulf Coast, according to PIERS. Volumes moving through the West Coast slipped 1.7 per cent during the period.

For individual ports in the month of September, imports in Los Angeles-Long Beach and Oakland increased 2.5 per cent, but declined 10.4 per cent in the Northwest Seaport Alliance of Seattle and Tacoma from September 2021, according to PIERS. By contrast, Asian imports in September increased 14.3 per cent in New York-New Jersey, 11.1 per cent in Savannah, 34.2 per cent in Houston, and 45 per cent in Charleston.

Total US imports from Asia through September were up 4.5 percent year over year.

The share of Asian imports landing at West Coast ports for the nine months through September dropped to 57.5 per cent from 61.2 per cent last year. What was lost on the West Coast was gained by the East Coast, where the import share climbed to 35.1 percent from 32.8 per cent last year, and the Gulf Coast, whose share rose to 7.1 per cent from 5.7 percent.