Over the weekend, Zepol completed the data for May in our U.S. Customs trade data tool, TradeIQ. May’s results show that imports are slightly down when compared to last month (down 1.4%). While this decrease in container traffic seems minor, it is far below the typical increase in trade of 4.4% from April to May seen the last 5 years. In addition, container traffic is off 18.9% compared to May 2008. These numbers continue to show the weakness of imports in the U.S. Trade economy.

Below is a table showing the port regions of the world where shipments originated:
The trade economy makes up about 15% of the overall economy of the United States, but it is an important barometer for the entire economy. Because trade, especially imports, is a direct reflection of consumer demand and the confidence of manufacturers and retailers, a full recovery of the U.S. economy seems to be far off. These numbers continue to show lack of confidence amongst consumers, both businesses and households, in purchasing the products that importers transport to the United States. One part of this industry that is suffering is the trade facilitation side of importing; transportation companies, customs brokers, and ports continue to see difficult times ahead. In particular, more west coast ports than east coast ports see lower shipment levels when compared to last year.

Below are the top 10 ports in the United States by shipment count:
Zepol's U.S. Customs trade data is taken from Bills of Lading entered into the Automated Manifest System. The information represents the number of House manifests entered by importers of waterborne containerized goods. This indicator is the earliest data available for the previous month’s trade activity.