While North America West Coast port volumes have started to contract sharply in the third quarter of 2022, North America East Coast ports have stayed poised amid recent disruptions.
According to the latest analysis from Sea-Intelligence, the Y/Y laden inbound growth for East Coast ports in Q3 2022 was between 4 per cent and 11 per cent, and the annualised growth was between 7 per cent and 10 per cent.
Total handling volumes also exhibited a similar growth trend, while shifting slightly downwards.
As strikes and port congestion have plagued West Coast ports, recent data from the giants in San Pedro Bay showed constant slumping volumes – with the Port of Los Angeles registering its lowest figures in months last October.
Sea-Intelligence also observed an increase in the laden export volumes, growing Y/Y for four consecutive months in September.
READ: US import demand balance continues eastward shift
Alan Murphy, CEO, Sea-Intelligence highlighted how this “shows that the carriers are starting to clear out laden export backlog a little more.
“That said, empty exports are still growing at a rate of 17 per cent-20 per cent Y/Y, when annualised against 2019.”
Another key takeaway from Sea-Intelligence’s analysis is that there is a continuing volume shift from the West Coast to the East Coast ports, where handling volumes on either coast are closer to parity, whereas in the past decade, North America West Coast ports have handled considerably more volumes than the East Coast ports.
The Marine Exchange of Southern California (MX), the non-profit data reportage organisation based at the San Pedro Bay, made the announcement on 22 November.
