US container imports from Japan fell slightly in June, dropping 0.2 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to 51,326 TEUs based on volumes recorded at ports of origin, according to Descartes Datamyne.
On a month-on-month basis, however, volumes rose 9.1 per cent. Direct shipments accounted for the bulk of the trade, reaching 35,625 TEUs, up 7.1 per cent YoY.
The remaining 15,701 TEUs moved via transhipment, down 13.5 per cent, putting the transhipment rate at 30.6 per cent, a decline of 10.4 per cent from May.
Across the first half of 2026, US imports from Japan totalled 308,011 TEUs, down 2.5 per cent on the same period last year.
Direct shipments made up 199,644 TEUs of that figure, down 5.4 per cent, while transshipments rose 3.4 per cent to 108,367 TEUs, representing 35.2 per cent of total volume, a growing share that points to shifting routing patterns across trans-Pacific supply chains.
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Breaking the data down by port of origin, Tokyo remained the largest source port with 72,078 TEUs, though this marked a 13.1 per cent decline year-on-year.
Nagoya followed with 60,057 TEUs, down 4.5 per cent, and Kobe with 40,636 TEUs, down 10.1 per cent. Yokohama bucked the wider downward trend, posting a sharp 39.2 per cent increase to 19,734 TEUs, while Shimizu grew 8.5 per cent to 2,026 TEUs.
The divergence between Yokohama’s growth and the declines at Tokyo, Nagoya and Kobe suggests cargo owners may be adjusting port calls or consolidation strategies within Japan’s export network, even as overall US-bound volumes from the country remain under pressure for the year to date.
