SIMIC

THE volume of container imports arriving at US ports, after a two-year boom, has fallen sharply, prompting questions about when it will end, reports Reuters.
"We're going back to 2019," said transport economist Walter Kemmsies, who believes consumers are reverting to their historical spending split of 70 per cent on services and 30 per cent on goods.
Container import volumes across all US ports hit an all-time high in May and pulled back slightly before plunging in August and September.
That put the indicator close to the levels last seen in 2019, before the pandemic and a surge in demand for shipments of furniture, clothing and appliances, according to data tracked by Descartes Datamyne.
The question is whether the trendline - an indicator for strength of consumption, the wider economy and trade - flattens out in the coming months, relieving a source of supply-chain distress that had driven prices higher, or whether the boom turns to an outright bust with a potential recession looming.
Goods packed in ocean containers account for roughly 25 per cent of US imports and many of the purchases made by consumers, whose spending fuels as much as 70 per cent of US economic activity. Volume surged as much as 40 per cent from 2019 levels during the pandemic as retailers raced to meet soaring demand for goods.