One year after the natural disasters struck Japan, the country has shown an impressive recovery despite countless challenges along the way. In April of last year, one month after the tragedy, U.S. imports from Japan decreased over 13% from March. Supply chain disruptions were widespread due to damaged factories, vessels, and ports. U.S. imports from Japan decreased 2.6% in 2011 compared to the previous year.

On the brighter side, imports from Japan are off to a positive start in 2012, with the first two months up 2.8% compared with 2011. February of this year posted the highest value of TEUs imported from Japan in one month since October of 2008, impressive figures to say the least. The graph below illustrates the trend of imports.


The Port of Sendai, in particular, was closest to the disaster area and was hit the worst. Containers and goods littered the nearby area, causing shipments to and from the port to be completely halted. One year later, the port has resumed activity and February of this year was the first month of significant imports from the port. Below is a breakdown of how the tragedy has affected port activity in Japan.


 

After Japan’s crippling catastrophe in March, U.S. import shipments of Toyota vehicles in Q2 of this year took a 30% dive from Q1 and a 50% drop from Q2 of last year. It was the lowest level of Toyota imports for one quarter in our Bill of Lading database (goes back to 2003). Among other disruptions, the disaster caused supply chain issues as well as transportation shifts because of damaged ports. This quarter (Q3), imports are back on track with 2009 and 2010 levels, rising over 80% from Q2 of this year. The significant rise can be seen in the graph below. Also illustrated in the graph is the noteworthy downfall of Toyota imports in 2008. Four years ago, an average of 200 Toyota shipments entered the U.S. from Japan each quarter. Now, we import an average of 80 shipments each quarter.

 

The latest buzz in the international trade world has been around China’s recent quarterly trade deficit, the first in seven years. The country, an important player in the global export market, posted a $1.02 billion deficit for Q1 of this year. China’s increased demand for international products coupled with the lower demand from important markets for Chinese products were major contributing factors to the deficit. U.S. imports from China took a dive in Q1 of this year (see graph below), a typical trend after the holiday bustle. In fact, Q1 was actually up this year, in terms of TEU volume, 5% from quarter one of 2010 and up nearly 20% from quarter one of 2009. China will likely not continue this deficit in Q2, especially as Japan is expected to increase demand for Chinese made products during the recovery and reconstruction process.

Zepol has illustrated the trend of U.S. exports to China for the last three years in the chart below. The end of 2010 saw a large jump in exports to China, the top products being oil seeds and fruits, electrical machinery, and nuclear reactors. China still remains an export driven economy despite the deficit. That being said, China’s imports are certainly growing, along with the number of middle-class consumers, making future deficits possible.